Growing Pains
by Ivanwright
Summary: Life, and it's trials. A complex story of Jennifer Wakmen and her friends as they deal with their developing lives. Complicated by the discovery of a deactivated android, the rise of an old adversary, return of lost friends, and Jennifer's own development.
1. Typical Day

**CHAPTER I**

**A Typical Day**

_** "Normality is the mask we all must don, to shield us, from the every encroaching social monster."**_

_** R.D.M**_

**Tremorton High School**

It was just another day at Tremorton High. The sun was shining bright overhead, only a single, small cloud challenged it's warm rays, drifting lazily by. The weather was nice, far too nice to be wasted at school. A fact that Bradly Carbunkle and Jennifer Wakeman were discussing as they made their way to school, "So, what do you say? Skateboarding after school?" Brad pushed open the school door as he spoke, Jenny followed him in.

"Well, the weather is nice...Which skate park?" She asked.

"The one down by the mall of course!" Before Jenny could reply, she noticed Brittany and Tiffany Crust, better known as the Crust cousins, in her peripheral vision. Once again the duo were perched atop the social latter, peering down at Brad and Jenny as they walked through the front door. Surrounded by their faithful, the two simply rolled their eyes and headed to class along with their group. It Monday. The day most students dread, except for Jenny. She doesn't care for Mondays anymore than the other students but, it did usually mean that Britt and Tiff where in a funk about the start of the school week, or still hung over from one of Don Prima's weekend extravaganzas. Either way, it generally meant no cruel jokes for her.

_ "Thank Jobs! I don't think I could take it today, not after the weekend I've had." _Jenny processed to herself.

"Skateboarding after school Jen! Be there!" Brad said as he raced the bell to class.

"Oh, I'll be there!" She shot back coyly, walking to class herself. She barley manged step inside and grab a seat before the bell rang. As if he had planned to do so, a disgruntled Mr. Smelhuase stepped in at the exact moment the bell ended.

"Alright now class, page 86. You have 5 minutes to review the chapter before your pop quiz." A unanimous moan filled the classroom.

"Mahn, leave it ta Smelhuase ta make a Mondy worse..." Tiff said quietly to herself. Britt simply moaned in agreement as she stared blankly at her textbook.

"_Yeah...typical Monday..." _Jenny thought as she slowly opened her textbook.

The rest of the day seemed to drag on as Mondays do. Lunch time finally arrived. Jenny took a seat at her usual table. No, need to stand in line when you bring your own oil. It wasn't long before she was joined by Brad and a ever enthusiastic Sheldon, "Hey Jenny!" Said Sheldon, taking a seat right beside her.

"Hey Sheldon..." She replied in her usual tone, "Hey Brad." She said slightly more enthusiastic.

"Hey Jen, so hows this Monday been treating you?" Brad asked as he sat down.

"Fine other than boring me to death...Oh, pop quiz from Smelhuase. Page 86." She informed them.

"Thanks for the heads up I got him 5th hour." Brad replied, "So, you ready to get your metal but kicked skateboarding after school!" Brad said while giving her a competitive stare yet, still wearing that trademark smile.

"Bring it on Brad! I downloaded every episode of the Tony Squawk show! There's _**noway**_ your beating me!" She said, matching his stare and smile from across the table.

"Oh yeah? Well I've been practicing." He said, sounding very confident, "Just wait until you see the new an improved Bradster on a board!"

This brought a giggle out from Jenny, _"Same old Brad..." S_he thought.

"Hey, your going skateboarding?" Sheldon chimed in, mouth half full of food, "M-Mind if I tag along?..." He asked, hopefully, with a slight grin.

"Hmmmm...I never would have pegged _**you**_ for a skater Sheldon." Brad said with a look of quizzical interest. Sheldon swallowed hard under Brads stare.

"W-Well, not really but, it's all just a matter of physics and gravity, besides..." He slightly paused as he looked up at Jenny, "I'm sure you could show me a few moves, right Jenny?" He said with a wide grin an hopeful eyes.

_ "Same old Sheldon..." _Jenny thought as she rolled her eyes, "Fine...but this doesn't mean-" (_**SMACK) **_She was interrupted by her chest splitting open and her monitor flying out, hitting Sheldon squarely in the face.

"X-J9. Do you read me?" Mrs. Wakeman asked in a rather calm voice. Normally, Jenny would protest to her mother calling her X-J9, but this time, she was actually thankful for the interruption. Sheldon rubbed his now red nose with a frown.

"Mom, what's going on?" Asked Jenny.

"Oh, nothing _**to**_ important dear. I was just curious...are you detecting anything...unusual?" Mrs. Wakeman asked. Jenny's pigtails quickly turned into dual parabolic dishes, and her monitor screen switched to show the Earth and the immediate space around it.

"Nothing on my radar." Jenny replied.

"Interesting..." Mrs. Wakeman said tapping her chin with a pen, "I just finished updating my near earth threat monitor's detection grid telemetry. I am now detecting a small object orbiting around the moon..." Mrs. Wakeman paused mid sentence and picked up a notepad. She read softly to herself as she jotted down some notes, the three teens could still hear her, "Must..update..XJ-10...detection...Systems." the boys winced in shock at what Jenny's mother had just said in front of her own daughter, but Jenny acted as though she even didn't care, "Where was I...? Ah,yes. The object is far to small to be direct threat to the Earth, but it is emitting a small amount of radiation. I don't know what it is, but I would like you to check on it regardless."

"OK, mom." Jenny said as she retracted her dish's an turned off her monitor.

Sheldon was first to react, grabbing his hair, _**"XJ10! YOUR BEING REPLACED!"**_ He practically screamed.

"Whoa, Jen noway! Your moms just going to like, build another daughter an lock you up like your sisters! She can't do that!" Brad said.

"My moms a scientist first, Brad. Her data shows a steady increase in criminal technology, I'm keeping up but, if the current trend continues, then by the time XJ-10 is finished, so will my "Global Defense" days... " She said, "Sigh...The truth is the world has caught up with the mighty XJ-9. "

"Don't say that! There's gotta be a way to talk her out of it! What would I do with out you?" Exclaimed Sheldon.

"I'm sure you'll like XJ-10..." She said sarcastically while rolling her eyes.

"What about all our adventures together, huh? All the times you've saved us! Not to mention the world!" Brad added, "Doesn't that mean anything?"

"My moms' the worlds foremost robotics scientist. She has to develop new technology to stay on top or she'll lose all of her funding." Jenny replied.

"Your moms loaded! That's no excuse to just _**replace you!**_ Your the greatest hero ever! The nerve of her! Why I arda-" Sheldon was cut short by a motion of Jenny's hand.

"Guys, moms been working on this for 6 months now. I know its sad to say but...a lot has changed in the past 1 year, 10 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, more robots like YK9 and the Silver Shell are popping up, drawing the attention of companies, and their money." She said rather bluntly, "With how fast technology is developing, she has to update her designs to stay on top...Not to mention the fact that gangs are getting bolder as weapon designs improve...My design can't keep up forever..."She spoke the words sadly as she lowered her head, "We need the funding just to pay the electric bill from me charging every night and have you _**seen**_ the price of oil these days?!" She exclaimed, "The new model will use less oil and energy all while pretty much being better in every way than me..." Jenny spoke her last sentence rather sadly.

"That doesn't matter!" said Sheldon, "There is no replacing you Jenny! Why, your the most amazing robot ever! I just don't know-" Once again he was cut short.

"Look, I spent all weekend with her going over my systems deficiency's and XJ-10's design...She's...Going to be amazing..." Jenny said solemnly.

"That's harsh." Said Brad, "I cant believe your mom would do that. I mean, I get shes a scientist an all, but damn...Jen no matter what-" He too was cut short.

"Brad, Sheldon please stop... She's nearing completion and if you guys really are my friends then you'll drop it and help me enjoy the time I have left...The funding isn't enough to keep two robots active all the time." The two boys starred at Jenny as she spoke, Jenny just starred at her oil can. Sheldon looked as lost in this world as the day he met her, even Brads trademark smile was gone, now replaced with a slight look of aggravation.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Brad sternly asked, "We're your friends Jen, an we deserved to know."

"I know and I'm sorry... It's just...I've been putting it out of my C.P.U. and I didn't want you guys worrying about me. I came to accept it...After all, that's what happened to my sisters. One by one they were replaced by newer more, efficient models and now, its my turn..." She said, "I just wanted to live my life normally until then..." The rest of lunch was a long stint of silence. Even the student body's usual noise level seemed lower. Brad chased his food around his plate with his fork, occasionally taking a small bite. Sheldon sat quietly staring at his unblinking, he had eaten a few bites but suddenly, didn't feel like eating anymore. Jenny lightly sipped her oil and spoke again, "I will always cherish the memories I have with you guys..." She said softly, "But what I need from you now is to help me make the next couple of months the best ever!" **RING! **The bell sounded after her sentence, "So, get ready for that but kicking I'm going to serve up later!" She said as she stood with a sudden smile, narrowing her eyes.

Brad, picking up on the sudden smile, replied, "Download whatever you want Jen, there is no replacement for skill! See you there!" He had to force his smile but, he knew she needed it. As Jenny and Brad went there separate ways, Sheldon sat motionlessly, still starring at his plate of half eaten food.

_ "Its my fault...partly anyway..." _He thought to himself as he finally stood to put away his tray and ambled towards class, _"She said robots like the Silver Shell, I'm the Silver Shell! I never should have made him he's been nothing but trouble! Now I'm partly to blame for her replacement! I got to tell her about Shell before its to late. She deserves to know..." _He put it out of his mind for the time being as he walked into the classroom an took his seat, _"Oh, I hate Mondays!"_

**Brad's locker**

Brads mind was mostly blank as he slumped towards his class. The news hit him hard, _"Man...I always wanted to be a hero like Jenny, I never really thought about getting replaced though...The price of being a robot I guess..." _**BAMM!** He swung his locker open as the thought passed through his mind, "Damn this sucks!" He said aloud as he threw his books in and slammed the locker back closed. He was mad, "_I've replaced calculators before because they were obsolete, but Jenny's not a calculator! Shes my friend, a hero! She's-!" _**RIIIING **The bell ended his train of thought, _"Thank god for dodge-ball day! That will keep my mind off of this for a while." _Brad thought as he ran into the gym for some much needed P.E.

Jenny looked fine on the outside as she pushed through the school's back door and headed to the parking lot. This wasn't an emergency so, no need to knock a hole in the roof. Inside however, she was an emotional wreck. She had been for the past 6 months. She couldn't stop checking her update widget she had created and stored in her C.P.U., _"Just 3 months, 1 week, 2 days give or take..." _She was happy that Brad and Sheldon would obviously miss her, but that was also going to make saying good bye a lot harder when the time came. She wanted to cry but, she knew it would be for naught, _"Don't cry, make the most of your time Jenny, maybe if you do a really good job, then mom wont replace..." _She thought,"Yeah right.." She stopped her own train of process as she spoke these words softy to herself. She stopped in the corner of the parking lot away from the students vehicles. She looked into the sky and sighed as she plotted a course to the moon. A slight whir emitted from her head as her pigtails rotated into flight mode. C**lick-click.** Small rockets protruded from the bottom of her feet, slightly raising her height. A vibrating hum began to build within her as two long wings deployed from her back, ending in small rockets, followed by two smaller ones from her lower back. The vibrating hum exploded into thunder as all the rockets fired at once, _"I bet XJ-10 wont have this much trouble escaping Earth's atmosphere.." S_he processed as she streaked upwards, leaving nothing but scorched asphalt and two small droplets of water on the ground where she stood.

**Mrs. Wakeman's lab**

"Thank you for your understanding Vice Principle." Nora Wakeman said as she hung up the phone. She had just finished explaining why Jennifer would not be completing her school day. She reached over an grabbed her cup of freshly brewed tea an began to stir. She lightly plucked out the tea bag and dropped it in the trash can as she strolled to her monitoring station and took her seat. She continued to stir while watching the screen. This particular monitor was displaying up to the minute information on the location of the Global Robotic Response Unit. G.R.R.U. XJ-9 was currently a quarter of the way to her target around the Moon.

"Taking her time I see..." She took a sip and let out a soft grunt as the tea was still to hot for her to drink. She sat the tea aside an leaned back in her chair, allowing her eyes to drift close. A scientist's mind is always at work, grinding out new ideas for the future, or new technologies and the like, but Mrs. Wakeman's mind was drifting back, back to the events of six months ago. She knew back then that she wouldn't be able to hide the endeavor of building a new Global Response Unit from the active one. She would have to devote to much time, money and effort into the project to even try. So why bother? It seemed logical to tell her and get all the fighting out of the way.

**The Wakeman residence. 6 months ago.**

Mrs. Wakeman had been pacing the living room floor for the past 22 minutes exactly, she was counting. She glanced down at her watch again and sighed, "_This is going to be tough..."_ She thought. Finally, the familiar sound of rocket engines could be heard outside, followed by a soft thud as XJ-9 landed on the front lawn. A moment later the door opened an in she stepped.

"Hey mom! Boy what a day! You wont believe-!...whats wrong mom?"

"Um...XJ-9 I think you should sit down." Mrs. Wakeman said while motioning to the couch. Jenny took her seat and looked up worriedly at her mother, "Dear, I think you should know that I've begun working on a new project..." She trailed off as she turned her back to her creation. She couldn't bear to look at her right now, "It's XJ10." As soon as she the words left her mouth, she heard the sound of moving servos and turned around to see her creation standing at the window, looking into the sky with a saddened expression.

"How..How long?" Jenny asked softly.

"If everything goes smoothly...9 months to completion." Mrs. Wakeman replied. It was all jenny could do to keep from breaking down right then and there. She had to concentrate hard to prevent the tiny pistons behind her eyes from squeezing out all of her optical sensor lubricant. The memories where still fresh from the permanent deactivation of her sisters.

In a shaking voice, she asked something that caught her mother off guard, "Mom...Do you remember my activation day?"

"Of course dear, it was August 1, 2078. Why do you ask?" Mrs. Wakeman asked back.

"No reason..." Jenny replied, "I'm going up to my room for a while..." Mrs. Wakman watched her trudge slowly up the stairs.

**Present day**

Nora leaned forward in her chair and grabbed the cup of tea. She took a moment to breath in it's aroma before taking a big gulp. She glanced up at the monitor to see that XJ-9 was close to the moon. She then looked down into her cup, remembering how long it was after that conversation before they spoke again. Once they did, she had to ask her daughter a difficult question. She had to ask her for her help.

**Mrs. Wakeman's lab. 3 Months ago**

Nora had been feeling guilty for the past 3 months but, being a scientist, she wouldn't allow such a silly thing as emotions to distract her from her work. She had worked herself into a metaphorical corner, trying to write the programming for the new model. Building a new AI from scratch would take far longer than expected, especially one more advanced than XJ-9's. She needed real world data, a programmable foundation on which to build and improve. She needed a copy of XJ-9's current files. After all, her system had developed a great deal since her activation.

**Tremorton**

Jenny was currently finishing up with a couple of bank robbers, handing them over to the police,"Thanks little lady, we'll take it from here." The officer complimented.

"No biggie, just make sure they _**stay**_ locked up this time." She replied while activating her pigtail rockets. She waved goodbye to the officers and headed home. About halfway there, her belly-bolt began to flash and her chest plate slide open and out popped her communications monitor. Her Mother's face appeared on the screen.

"Are you busy X-J9?" Nora asked.

"Nope, just finished up actually. Whats up?" Jenny answered.

"Well,...You see...I've been working on the new AI program that will allow XJ-10 to interact with the outside world in an appropriate manner and...Well.." Nora spoke nervously.

"Just spit it out mom." Jenny sternly demanded.

"I...Need to download and copy the data in your hard drives to help complete the algorithms necessary for XJ-10 to properly carry out her programming. I also want to give her some of the accumulated information to help-" Jenny cut her off.

"You want to download my personality?! My memories?! How could you!" She lost her temper a little more with each word, _**"And then what?! DEACTIVATE ME TOO?!"**_

"Don't you raise your voice at me young lady!" Nora countered.

"_**SAVE IT!**_ It's not like I can say no anyway! You'll just sneak in my room at night and take them while I'm in sleep-mode! I'll be home... _**Later**_, you can alienate my mind and retrieve your precious data then." With that, the video communication monitor went blank on Nora's end.

**Present day**

Nora, no longer able to look at her own reflection in the cup, took another strong gulp. Trying in vain to douse the flame of emotion that now raged inside of her, "How could I, a world renown scientist, have been so blind, so foolish..." She said to herself as the memories of the past weekend began to rush back into her mind.

**The past weekend **

Once again, Nora Wakeman was in her lab working on her latest project. No, not XJ-10, but a small treat for XJ-9. Her guilt had finally reached a level where it could no longer be completely ignored. She felt she should reward her daughter for her cooperation in the project. The truth was, she needed her help once more. She had a warm can of oil on a tray along with a small pile of what appeared to be charcoal smothered with grease. She picked up the tray and proceeded up the stairs from her lab, through the living room, and up the staircase to the door to XJ-9's room. She sighed deeply to gain her composure before knocking on the door.

_** Knock,knock,knock,**_ "XJ-9, may I come in?" Jenny raised up into a sitting position on the side edge of her bed, not bothering to reply. She extended her arm out to the door, and opened it for her mother. Nora walked in, cautiously she approached her daughter and sat down beside her, "I brought you a little something." Nora picked up one of the mysterious lumps and handed it to XJ-9 with a smile.

After scanning the odd object for a few moments, Jenny asked, "OK...I give up...What is it?"

"My latest creation. It's highly dense compacted carbon crystals. I made them by infusing diamonds with electromagnetic energy. The process deforms and discolors them but, they now possess a massive amount of energy stored inside." Nora said very proudly, "Unfortunately, they are not cost effective to make, meaning the amount of energy they produce does not equal the amount of money it takes to create them."

"Gee...Thanks..." Jenny said, still a little puzzled by the entire situation, "Why did you make them then? And what am I suppose to do with them?"

"I know how much you like to try doing human things so...I thought you might want to try...Eating them." Jenny gave her mom a quizzical look. She never allowed her to eat anything before for fear of damaging her mouth from chewing or the oil tube that leads to her pump, "Well go on! Just chew and swallow! They're covered with axle grease to help them go down and I brought some oil to wash down the crumbs." Jenny was excited to try out eating and happily popped one in her mouth an began to chew. She quickly discovered she enjoyed this action, as evidence, she wore a wide grin and quickly popped in another one. She swallowed and took a big gulp of oil.

"Whoa, that's different...I can feel it sliding down inside me." Jenny said spitting out a few crumbs.

"Ha ha of course you will have to convert your abdomen into an incinerator in order to use them but, they will release enough thermal energy for one complete charge, no plugging in necessary ha ha." Nora chuckled at the sight of her daughter eating. Jenny's hands where covered with grease, she even managed to cover the bottom half of her face with crumb filled grease, "Here's a towel dear, I think you need some practice."

"So...hows XJ-10 coming along?" Jenny asked while cleaning her face.

"On schedule...But I need your help once again..I need you in the lab so I can review the amount of wear and tear on your internal structure in order to make necessary improvements to XJ-10's designs."

"So! Violating my mind wasn't enough!" Jenny exclaimed.

"Dear, you have to understand that this is all necessary to complete XJ-10 in time for the World Robotics Expo. Mogg has made some astonishing updates to YK-9 but, my XJ-10 will blow that buffoon out of the competition!" Nora exclaimed herself.

_**"Oh I understand perfectly well!"**_ Jenny nearly screamed as she stood up, knocking the tray to the ground, "This was just a bribe! All you wanted was to get me in your lab and take me apart!" Jenny's optics couldn't contain their lubricant this time, and through tear filled eyes she said, "All you care about is your Precious XJ-10! What about me mom?! What about your daughter?!"

"This isn't about you XJ9! It's about protecting the world, the greater good-" Jenny had reached her breaking point now, cutting off her mother.

"_**BULLSHIT!**_ It's all about the money! The government and private contracts! That's all you care about! That's why you shutdown my sisters and that's why your building my replacement! That and your stupid rivalry with Mogg!" Jenny unleashed her verbal fury.

_**"XJ9 how dare you speak to me this way!" **_Nora shouted back. Jenny was now trembling with sadness and anger. She turned towards her bedroom window and began to walk away from her mother as she spoke.

"You know? It's one thing to not care about me as a person...It's another thing entirely to not even respect me enough to call me Jenny..." The tears in her voice were as evident as the ones on her face.

"Where do you think your going?" Nora angrily questioned.

"Out...And don't worry, I'll be back soon enough for you to disassemble me..." With that Nora was left standing alone in her daughter's room. Shaking with anger, her eyes fell to the spilled oil on the floor. Slowly seeping away, staining the beautiful carpet.

**Present day**

Nora had to remove her glasses and set them aside on her desk. She could no longer see through them anyway, not with all the tears in her eyes. The pain of memories can be as real as a gunshot wound and they felt just hurtful as she rubbed at the droplets. Ever since the day she found out she was sterile, she had devoted her life to doing great things. Things like, joining Skyway Patrol, fighting in the Intergalactic War and building a global defense droid. All vain attempts at covering her pain. She had always wanted a daughter and deep down, she knew all along what she had really been building over the years. She just wasn't ready to accept the fact that she had finally done it, she had created a daughter. Now, the weight of this realization was crushing her heart, "I've treated you like a machine and all this time you've...You've truly loved me..." She looked down as her tears fell on XJ-9 blueprints. She noticed something in the upper left corner, "August 1, 2078...Her activation day...It's only 3 months away...Einstein's ghost! I'm working on a replacement for my own daughter and it's going to be complete on her activation day! What have I done?" She sobbed into her hands for a moment until the wheels of her scientific mind began to turn once more, "I have to make this right." Suddenly she sat up straight with an odd motherly smile. She rolled her chair over to her computer and began typing furiously, "XJ...Jenny is going to have an activation day she will never forget!" She said aloud as she typed. "Uhhh..and mental note, throw out the rest of Wisteria's Inner Journey Herbal Meditation Tea..."

**Somewhere between the Earth and Moon**

Jenny hadn't been flying for very long, only five minutes or so. She could reach amazing speeds in space with little effort, what with no gravity and all. In-fact, she was taking her time, releasing her frustrations on passing small meteors. A swift roundhouse kick turns another space rock into space dust. She revved up her rockets and plowed through a truck sized meteor and onto the Moon. Another minute of flying and the quietness of the vacuum began to let her C.P.U. calculate, "_I can't believe this is happening...I always knew the day was coming, I just thought she wouldn't go through with it...I thought she loved me..." _Jenny sighed into the emptiness of space and looked out past the moon, "_Maybe I should just keep flying..." _She continued to process, about her sisters and about what it must be like to be shutdown. She even briefly wondered about robot-heaven, but quickly pushed them all from her C.P.U. She had a mission to complete. A few moments more of flying and her target was in sight. It was obvious to her immediately that this was not a meteor. From it's coffin shape, to the way the moons light reflected off it's rusted surface. She hovered up beside the object and deployed a small screen from her wrist and began sweeping it back and forth slowly over the object, giving her a 3-D image inside her C.P.U.. Her scans reveal little more than static,"_Must be the radiation interfering with my scans...Wait...I can just make out a structure...Looks like circuitry and gears..." _Jenny stored the information, _"There's a shape inside, can't make out what it is though. I better check in with mom." _She closed her eyes and concentrated, her left pigtail unfolded into a parabolic dish, opening a radio channel back at her mothers lab.

**Mrs. Wakeman's lab**

Nora was busy reworking the designs for XJ-10 when her radio went off, "Mo...do..ed...me?" Jenny's static voice called out. Nora rolled her chair over to the radio and grabbed the mic.

"Yes dear. There's a lot of interference though, what have you found?" Nora asked.

"I...contact. Obj... unkn...gin.…..dation levels minimal." The static barely allowed Jenny's voice to be audible.

"Oh I cant understand a word your saying XJ-9, just bring it back to the lab and hurry will you?" Nora said as she hung up the mic, _"Oh I cant wait to show XJ-9 my new designs!" _She thought to herself as she rolled back to her workbench and began working on some calculations.

**At the Moon**

** "**...can't...tand...XJ-9 just...back to the lab...hurry..." That was all Jenny heard. She didn't take a moment to process the radiation interference, she didn't process about anything. She simply sat in stunned silence for a moment then let out a silent scream into the void as icy tears floated from her optics. She had been bottling up her emotions for far to long now and felt as if she would explode. She had to let off some steam. She raced towards the surface of the moon, leaving a 10ft wide crater with her impact, _"She doesn't care about me...at all..." _With that thought process, Jenny started to sprint across the moon, _"I'm just...Just a damn robot to her..." _Jenny's sprint had quickly turned into a run, a 98.34 mph run according to her speedometer, _"She still can't even call me Jenny." _Jenny was now traveling at an alarming 226.89 mph and gaining speed, _"She..She doesn't even care about my activation day!" _As this process passed through her C.P.U., Jenny literally floored it, letting out another silent scream that would have shattered windows for miles back on Earth, and slammed into a mountain created by an asteroid long ago. She cut loose inside the rock, letting her emotions fuel her body. The mountain crumbled to her fury, and with an explosion of energy what was left turned to dust. Jenny sat on her knees in the crater for a moment, trying to compose herself as the small chunks of Moon rock slowly drifted around her. She had that building up inside of her for the past 6 months. She was drained mentally after letting it all out. She examined the scuffs that covered her paint, _"Great another lecture from mom..." _She stood up and dusted herself off, then proceeded to hover up to the object. Once beside it, she extended a metal cable from the middle of her back and attached it to the object and headed for home.

**The Wakeman residence**

Mrs. Wakeman was pacing back and forth in her lab, awaiting the arrival of XJ-9. She had also just gotten off the phone with Sheldon. Sheldon is quite intelligent for his age and Nora wanted his assistance with the examination of the object, "_**Huff**_..._**huff**_...Mrs...Wakeman...I got here as fast as I could..."

"My word Sheldon! Did you run all the way here?" Nora questioned, "And please, call me Nora."

"You bet! I mean...my car broke down and I wouldn't miss this for the world! Uh...Nora." Sheldon nervously replied. Nora looked at her watch.

"Well your just in time! My daughter should be here right about..._**NOW!**_" Right on que, the entire house shook as a sonic boom thundered across the sky outside. Jenny was coming in hot, literally. The citizens of Tremorton gasped as a fireball streaked over head, aimed directly at the Wakeman residence. The fireball extinguished itself only a hundred feet or so above the ground. Jenny gracefully landed in the driveway with her cargo in hand. She carried the alien artifact into the garage, witch had been setup for reentry and cool down. After being saturated with coolant foam, and misted with acid, Jenny and her cargo were washed down with a special solution. She then preceded to the lab. The second she walked in, Jenny was greeted by Sheldon. He had recently ditched his hoody for a plain black t-shirt.

"OhmygoshJennywhathappened?" He spat out in one breath.

"Calm down Sheldon, just a meteor shower I ran into." Jenny replied.

"X...uh Jenny, are you sure your alright?" Nora asked with general concern. The word Jenny coming from her mothers mouth caught her off guard a bit.

"Uh yeah mom...I'm sure. Where do you want this thing?" Jenny asked. Nora ran to a near by table and, unceremoniously, shoved everything on it into the floor.

"Over here will be fine." She replied. Jenny walked over and sat it down. Immediately Nora and Sheldon began walking circles around the object, giving it quizzical looks.

"Well its defiantly not from Earth..." Sheldon said as Nora walked over to her computer and began entering a command.

"Indeed..." Was all that Nora said as she keyed in a command and pressed the enter key. The lights in the lab all dimmed and a rectangular piece of machinery the size of the table lowered from the ceiling. It stopped about a foot from the object and began emitting a very eerie looking green laser that sweep over the object on the table. After a moment of scanning, the lights brightened once more.

"Wwwwhhoooaaa! Nice light show Mrs. W! That was a Electromagnetic spectrometer right?" Said Brad.

"Why yes it was, I made some modifications to it of course but..." Nora paused to narrow her eyes and look up at Brad from her seat with an annoyed expression, "How did you get into my lab Bradly?"

"And how did you get out of school so early?" Jenny asked as she walked up to them.

"One: you left the door open. Two: Tuck thought if he snorted milk up his nose it would come out his ears...And it did. Soooooo...I had to go pick him up from his school an take him to the doctor so they could drain the chocolate milk out." Brad answered.

"Gross..." Jenny replied with a look of disgust. Nora's computer began decoding the information, Sheldon and her both read the numbers with bated breath. Brad gave Jenny the look that only he could pull off. His eyes seemed to say, "How are you?" and "I'm here, no matter what." all at the same time. Jenny looked down at her feet.

"Guys! Guys! Look at these results!" Sheldon exclaimed as he read the information scrolling across Nora's computer screen, "It's a stasis chamber!"

"Hmmmm...your right. According to this, it seems to operate off of wireless transmissions. All we need to do is find the wireless transmission of the proper frequency and we can open it." She said very matter of factly.

"Wait, wait, wait...Whats a stasis chamber, and why do we wanna open it?" asked Brad.

"A stasis chamber is a containment vessel designed to preserve various items for long periods of time." Jenny replied.

"I guess you have been paying attention in science class. This one however, appears to be able to sustain objects for thousands of years if need be, far exceeding Earth technology. Sheldon, would you be a dear a bring me that box on top of my filing cabinet?" Nora asked. Sheldon walked over to the cabinet and reached up he had to stand on the tips of his toes, but he managed to reach the box. He carried it over to Nora and sat it down. She proceeded to throw various pieces of equipment out until she found what she was looking for. All the while explaining to Brad the importance of opening the chamber, "And to answer your second question Bradly, there may be technology inside vital to creating new medicines, weapons..."

"Or a boy robot..." Jenny cut her off with a far away look and dreamy expression on her face.

_ "Or a girl robot..." _Sheldon briefly thought to himself.

"Or a blood thirsty monster!" Brad exclaimed waving his hands and rolling his eyes.

"Relax Brad, you sound like Tuck. I already scanned it. There's no signs of life." Jenny reassured him.

_**"AH HA!"**_ Nora proclaimed that she had found what she was looking for. She proudly held up the device, "This is my patented wireless frequency decoder and duplicator!" She exclaimed. She walked over to the object and began circling it, pointing the device at it the entire time and intensely studying every beep the decoder made. After watching her for a minute, Sheldon walked over to Brad and Jenny.

"So Tuck actually snorted milk?" Sheldon asked

"Third time this week, dad couldn't get off this time so I had to go get him. I figured, I'm a senior now right? I don't need to go back today." Brad said, "What about you? How did you get out so early?" He asked Sheldon.

"Oh well...being a nerd does have it's advantages. I only go for half a day. The rest I spend in my gara...I mean my lab, working on that NASA computational algorithm." Sheldon replied.

"Oh yeah...I forgot about that. I guess your college is paid for, huh?" Brad said.

"Yeah...What about your football scholarship? Your college future is set too, right?" Sheldon pried.

"Oh yeah!" Brad said as he posed with a smile on his face. Indeed Brad became the star of the Quakers ever since Jenny quit the team. The training had really paid off for his body too. He's not huge but he has become noticeably muscular, with a little bit of a 5 o'clock shadow. He doesn't wear his trade mark vest and white shirt anymore, just his football jersey and jeans. "So, what about you Jen? Got into any good colleges?"

"I applied t a few. You'll have to wait for XJ-10 to see if which accepted me..." Jenny replied as she looked down at the floor. The two boys just frowned, remembering what happened at lunch. Brad mentally kicked himself for asking.

"Eureka! I have deciphered the signal!" Nora announced, "All I have to do is press this button and..." Nora pressed the button, "Presto!" The teens braced themselves for anything. The sight and sound of pressurized gas escaping the chamber pushed fear into their minds. Brad stood nervously beside Jenny who took a defensive stance, while Sheldon peaked over her shoulder. Nora slowly backed away as the top half of the object lifted away and hovered to the side. It crashed down onto the floor with a heavy metallic thud. The entire group cautiously approach the object and peak over the side to see, _**"A human!"**_ Exclaimed Nora. Inside was what appeared to be a human male in his early 20's. 6ft tall Caucasian with brown hair. He appeared to be about 160lbs. He had on a strange looking metallic v shaped black vest and black loose fitting metallic pants.

"Noway! My scan showed no signs of life!" Jenny exclaimed.

"It's not human..." Sheldon interrupted, "It's a automaton! See the lines that separate each individual outer plate?" He pointed out.

"Well Jen, way to hit the nail on the head." Brad said as he poked the creatures forehead with his pointer finger.

_**"Cut that out!"**_ Nora yelled as she slapped Brads hand, "I don't want to risk activation until we know exactly what we are dealing with!" To late, a low hum began to emanate from the robot.

"Oh brother, here we go..." Jenny said in a worried tone.


	2. Revelations And Contemplations

**CHAPTER II **

**Revelations and Contemplations**

** "_Change happens faster than you might think. Prepare yourself for the inevitable and chose wisely, the ones you trust."_**

_** R.D.M.**_

**Mrs. Wakeman's lab**

Seconds turned into agonizing minutes as the pressurized gas from the chamber filled the room, giving it an eerie sense. The low hum picked up a few octaves momentarily, then suddenly stopped. The humanoid figure lurched into an upright sitting position with surprising speed, causing the group to jump, except for Jenny, "I'm not taking any chances..." She spoke the words softly but, the sound of her laser limb snapping into place said she meant it. The robots optic covers zipped open, reveling bright white eyes with no pupils, shining brightly through the fog of pressurized gas. Sheldon shuddered behind the iron maiden when his eyes caught site of the cold emotionless face. It's posture and expression seemed to embody the stereotypical homicidal robot. Slowly, his head began to spin counter clockwise, while emitting a thin, vertical white light from it's optics. Inch by inch, it's gaze sweep the room.

"What's it doing?" Brad asked in a whisper.

"He's scanning the area..." Jenny whispered back.

"How can you be sure?" Brad asked again.

"It's what I would do..." Jenny replied. Finally, it's gaze found and rested upon the group. Jenny positioned her weapon 6 inches from the robots optic center point. The entire group held it's breath and exhaust. An audible click sounded from the robots head and coal black pupils instantly appeared in it's optic lenses. Jenny stared straight into it's eyes, no words need be spoke, as her look indicated her level of conviction. The strange robot's stare left Jenny's only to cross as it scanned the object aimed at it's forehead. A second later, and the cold calm demeanor of the robot melted into one that can only be described as sheer panic. A quick _**Whirr **_was the only warning as, at speeds only registered by artificial eyes, the bot rolled backwards from it's sitting position and out of the chamber, landing upright on it's feet. Upon hitting the floor, he eased backwards until his back pressed against Mrs. Wakeman's chalkboard, knocking a few items to the floor.

"Ooookaaaaay? What's the deal? It's like he's afraid of us something." Brad chimed in, breaking the silence.

"Hmm...Judging from his body language, I would have to say you're right. If he's capable of emotions, then that means he has a highly advanced AI, probably capable of communication on some level..." Sheldon responded.

_**"Oh for Pete's sake!"**_ Nora pushed to the front of the group, easing aside her daughter's weapon, "It doesn't take a P.H.D. to see the poor thing is scared half to deactivation!" Nora cautiously approached the robot with a smile. She stretched her arms out to her side, in a non-threatening manner, _**"Ahem! WE. MEAN. YOU. NO. HARM."**_ She said in a loud obnoxious tone, Jenny slapped her hand to her forehead with a _**Clank!**_ The alien simply stared at her with fear in it's eyes. Seeing that this was getting her nowhere, Nora took a quick look around, looking for a means to bridge the communications gap. Her face lit up when she noticed a stick of chalk the bot had knocked to the ground as it backed into chalkboard. She scooped up the utensil and approached the board. The robot scooted away to the far side. She scribbled a few illegible lines on the board, then offered the chalk to the robot. The creature gave her a questionable stare. Nora tossed the chalk over, he batted at it awkwardly for a moment before he caught it. He starred at the chalk and back at Nora, confused. He began scanning the the object in his hand then Nora's scribbles.

"I don't get it...Whats going on?" Brad asked anxiously.

_**"SSSSSHHHH!**_ Have a little respect! Can't you see Jenny's mom is making first contact with an alien artificial intelligence? We're seeing history unfold before our eyes!" Sheldon exclaimed quietly.

"Boring history..._**Just write something on the board already**_!" Brad shouted at the robot. Jenny clamped her hands on the boys mouths.

"That's enough you guys! Let my mom make history in peace!" She removed her hands after she had silenced them. The robot looked at Brad, more puzzled than ever, then back to the chalkboard. It made a few scribbles on the board for itself, testing the experiment before it. It seemed to understand the concept and soon, it's hands where moving at a human eye blurring pace. In moments, it filled half the board with numerous equations and drawings. As if satisfied with it's work, it took a seat in Mrs. Wakeman's rolling chair.

_**"Look Sheldon!"**_ Nora sounded as if she had won the Nobel prize again, "_**Math!**_ He's trying to communicate with mathematics! We just need to decipher these equations and relate them to the images he drew!"

"Math, it truly is a universal language!" Sheldon exclaimed while looking over the board. Jenny and Brad decided to simply introduce themselves.

"Hey there guy! So, how's space these days?" Brad asked in his typical no big deal way, "I been there few times myself you know." The bot simply gave him a puzzled look.

"I'm pretty sure he has no idea _**what**_ you are, much less _**what**_ your saying..." Jenny explained.

"Fine, Miss Know-it-all...How do you suppose we talk to him?" Brad asked.

"Hmm...I think mom has a beta version of my language program around here somewhere..." Jenny trailed off as she began searching over her mothers cluttered computer station, "I will never understand why she tells me to clean my room." Brad starred at the bot with folded arms, studying it. The robot starred back with equal interest. After a short starring match, something caught Brads eye.

"What do we have here... " His face lit up, "Aha!...language software located!" He said in a victorious tone as he grabbed a disk from the floor by the desk Jenny was searching, "How do we know he can even use this?" Brad asked as he held up the golden colored CD.

"Let me see that." Jenny said, grabbing the disc, she dusted it off and read, "XJ language systems algorithms. Well...I don't know, but it's worth a shot." After a few, in Jenny's opinion, comical hand gestures from Brad, she handed the robot the disk. It scanned the new item then, opened it's mouth to reveal a disc reader and popped it in, "Well, he does seem harmless...Lets check with mom and Sheldon while he's downloading." Jenny suggested. The two friends trotted over to the scientific duo. Jenny never really took her sensors off the robot.

"Agreed. These are definitely coordinates of some kind. I'm very impressed Sheldon, I haven't seen anyone decode a binary algorithmic equation that quickly in ages." ( _Not since myself that is. ) _Nora complimented, and thought to herself. Sheldon looked down and scratched at the silky black hair on the back of his head, "Now, if we solve this equation here, I believe we will have a more narrow field of search."

"So, what have you found so far?" Jenny asked.

"Not much other than these coordinates, we applied them to the circular image he drew but we're not quite sure what they are. We're trying them against known locations but, nothing important seems to be at any of the points so far..." Sheldon replied in a slightly frustrated tone.

"Well, you've only been at for a few minutes, you'll figure it out." Jenny said smiling, boosting the the love-struck teen's confidence.

"Uh, Jenny? I don't mean to be rude but, can't you read binary?" Sheldon asked.

"Yeah..." She answered half annoyed, "I just don't like to. Let me have a look..." Jenny approached the board and scanned the equations, "Hmm...The coordinates don't match up with anything known to Earth because, he's not from here, He's not even from this galaxy..." She converted her left pointer finger into a laser pen, "See this, 0011010110? It's saying something about an explosion...A big one too! Oh, I get it now! Those are the coordinates of the explosion. " Jenny turned off her laser pointer and folded her arms evaluating the information, "The rest of it is a description referencing the image he drew...It's all in past tense though...Oh! Oh no..." Jenny's demeanor changed, her voice took on a sad tone, "That circle represents his home word...The coordinates indicate where it used to be..." Everyone in the room suddenly had a heavy heart, "He's...The only survivor of his kind..." She couldn't help but feel as though she knew the feeling. Suddenly, her proximity alert went off. She willed around battle ready to see the mystery bot standing a few feet away, hands behind his back with a sad expression.

"...It's w-where I'm from...my h-home..." The robot spoke with a slightly digitized tone. The emotion in his voice came through loud and clear," We where a...ttacked by strange looking robots...We didn't stand a chance. They took everything they could. A big one, with a horn placed a bomb in the planets core...I'm the only one that made it." Shock, at this startling revelation. Awe, at his ability to comprehend the English language so quickly and sadness of his tell left them all momentarily speechless. The slight sound of buckling metal and wining servos revealed Jenny's mood, she clenched her fists tightly.

"The hive..." Jenny said. Nora approached her daughter and placed a calming hand on her shoulder.

"So, what Skyway said is true. The Hive does exist. Even with Vega now in control, the Cluster Prime military is still loyal to the fallen Vexes." Nora said, "They must still be searching for her."

"But why would they go to his world? Why would they harm other robots?" Sheldon asked.

"Well, they're flying through space without backup from Cluster Prime right? They probably ran low on supplies and you guys had what they needed." Brad said rather intelligently.

"Wow, that actually makes perfect sense Brad." Jenny complimented, "What else do you remember?" She asked.

"...Nothing my memory banks are empty." The robot replied.

"Well, It may come to you later. Until then, what do we call you?" Nora asked.

"I...do not understand..." He said.

"Umm, what's your assigned designation?" Jenny reworded.

"I...I can not...process..." He tried to comprehend.

"How about Arnold? You got a strange accent like that guy in those old Sci-fi movies." Brad chimed.

"Arnold? I don't know..." Jenny responded. A rather loud gasp from Sheldon grabbed everyone's attention. He was still reading information from Nora's scan.

"Uh...How about we call him Acel?" He suggested.

"Acel just doesn't sound right...A-cel...Ac-el...Axle! Not bad. I like it." Jenny replied, "What gave you the idea of Acel anyway?" Sheldon nervously scratched the back of his head.

"Uh..heh heh...Anatomically Correct Electronic Life-form." He stated with a blush.

_**"WHAT?"**_ Nora shouted as she ran to her computer, "Oh my..."

"Well that's just blunt." Brad relied, "What do we do now?"

"I don't know about the rest of you, but the remaining data must be _**thoroughly**_ read... Not to mention the stasis chamber..." Nora stated.

Brad turned to Axle, "Well, why don't we show you around? I'm sure Tuck would love to meet another freaky robot."

"Freaky...Robot?" Axle asked.

_**"Brad!"**_ Jenny yelled, "Don't you think your being a little insensitive? Besides your not going out in public dressed like that." Axle simply looked him self up a down, puzzled, "Come on! I bet you got some clothes that will fit him, huh Brad?" Jenny said as she started up the stairs.

"Maybe...I think I got an old sweater vest somewhere..." Brad said as he followed behind Jenny. She turned and motioned for Axle to follow.

"Swe-ter-vest?" Axle asked as the three headed to the door.

_**"Hold on!"**_ Nora halted the trio, "I can't, in good conscious, let an alien automaton walk about! Especially one that's emitting radiation!"

"Low-level non-threatening radiation mom..." Jenny argued.

"Radiation non-the-less, and after all the trouble the Cluster has caused us in the past, what do you think people's reactions would be to a strange new robot? Why don't you two retrieve the clothing while we run a few more tests." Nora suggested.

"That would be logical... " Sheldon added.

"Fine...We'll be back Axle." Jenny sighed.

"O-ok. " Axle replied. Brad and Jenny turned and exited. As they left the room, Jenny couldn't shake a strange feeling she had about him. Something about him felt...connected to her. Brad noticed Jenny's far away stare as they walked along.

"What's the matter Jen? You need some oil or something?" He asked

"Hmm? No, just...Thinking about everything." She answered.

"Yeah...Things have been changing a lot here lately...You ok?" Jenny sighed.

"Everything's still bolted together... As good as someone with an expiration date can be." She looked away as she spoke.

"You should have told me sooner..." Brad somewhat scolded, "I'm always here for you."

"I know I just didn't want you guys worrying about me. I don't want sympathy, this is just what happens to us robots." Jenny replied, faking acceptance to the whole situation.

"To robots maybe, not to you." The statement brought a little smile to the metallic teens mouth, She turned back to face him. He was smiling too.

**Nora's Lab**

"Well..." Nora began while reading data off her computer monitor, "You are built like a tank! Unknown metals yielding strengths not seen in anything on earth." Nora stated, "And this _**"skin"**_ covering you outer exoskeleton...It's astounding to say the least."

"Oh, uh cool?" Axle somewhat asked. He just under went the same scan his stasis chamber did. Sheldon wasn't so much curious as he was skeptical.

"So, do you recall anything about your home world yet?" He asked.

"No. The only files I have are what I have already explained to you." Axle replied while motioning to the chalkboard.

"Odd. You don't recall anything about a place you lived you whole life? For that matter, how old are you?" Sheldon asked sternly with folded arms.

"_**Sheldon Lee!**_ That is no way to treat a guess!" Nora interrupted his interrogation, "Do you require a charge or oil?" She asked motherly.

"No. I don't charge but, oil would be nice." Axle replied.

"I'll be right back then." Nora said as she headed to the kitchen, leaving Sheldon alone with Axle. The two stared at each other. Axle blankly Sheldon sternly, arms still folded.

"How does a robot from another galaxy drink Earth petroleum _**or **_even know what it is?" Sheldon asked.

"I..." Axle looked as though he was searching for the answer himself, "I don't know."

"You know, for a robot, you don't _**know**_ much." At that time Nora returned with oil followed by Brad and Jenny. Brad was touting some cloths.

"Okay dude! I found my old white long sleeve shirt and some jeans. And here's some old boots of my dads. Robots don't were socks do they?" Brad asked.

"So-cks?" Axle replied.

"Uhhhh, just forget I asked." Brad said.

"You can change in the storage room over there." Nora said, motioning to a door across the room. Axle walked over, pushed the door open walked in an closed it behind him.

"I don't trust him." Sheldon stated bluntly.

"Come on Shell! He just got here!" Brad defended.

"There's to many questions he can't answers. Why can't a _**robot**_ remember_** anything **_about his life?" Sheldon questioned.

"Maybe because he's been through a very traumatic event! Maybe we're more like you than you think." Jenny said flatly, "And another thing about us robots, we have very good audio sensors." Jenny looked at Sheldon with a stern eye. The entire room turned to face the storage room at the sound of the door nob turning. Axle stepped out wearing blue jeans with brown boots and Brads old white button up. Nora took the alien fabric from him and went straight to her microscope.

"Very nice if I must say so. I did pick them out after all." Jenny said, changing the subject, "It just needs a little..." She trailed off as she grabbed Axle's sleeves and rolled them up to just below the elbow, "There!"

"Looking good bro!" Brad complimented.

"Oh, thanks. Now what?" Axle asked.

"Skateboarding, that's what!" Brad exclaimed.

"Skate...boarding?" Axle asked.

"I don't think that's a very good idea..." Nora said, "I think is for the best if Axle stayed here until further study can be conducted."

"I agree..." Sheldon lowly added.

"Please! Please! Please! Please! Please!" Jenny begged, "I promise I'll look after him! I'll monitor the radiation level! I never get to hang out with any robots..." She really poured on the charm, forming a sad, wounded face. Not even Nora could say no.

"Oh alright..." Nora, begrudgingly said. Jenny jumped with joy, "Just be careful!"

"Thank you so much!" Jenny happily replied, "Oh, you'll love it!" Jenny said as she grabbed his hand and practically dragged him out of the door with Brad trying to keep up.

"Wait up! I'm only human you know!" Brad yelled as the three ran out. Axle shot Sheldon a cold stare just before exiting.

Nora shook her head and smiled, "Well grouch, that just leaves you, me and a highly advanced alien stasis chamber that needs a good examination..." Nora said, "If your interested..."

"Yeah...I guess we better get to it..." Sheldon didn't want to give up his skateboarding lessons but, he was very eager to learn more about Axle. He knew something was wrong with the whole situation, "_A boy robot just __**conveniently**__ falls from the sky with no background and everyone falls in love with him...I'll get to the bottom of this!" _Sheldon thought to himself as he gathered some tools to join Nora around the chamber.

**The skate park**

Brad, Jenny and Axle had just finished a very competitive round of skateboarding. Brad was leaned over with his hands on his knees, breathing heavily and sweating a little, "_Huff...huff..._Man...This was so unfair, you guys aren't even tired! I win on a technicality..." Brad huffed.

"You wish! I had a 36.8% higher success rate than you besides, Axle did better and he's not even from this planet!" Jenny replied.

"About that...how did you just happen to have a skateboard in your feet like Jenny?" Brad asked looking up at Axle from his leaned over position. This even caused Jenny to give Axle a curious eye.

"I uhhh...I just observed Jenny as she transformed her feet. I did a quick scan of the internal structure of my feet and found I had similar components. I just activated the program." Axle said in a slightly digitized tone.

"Well, whatever. I still say foul. Transforming feet and unlimited energy, this so wasn't fair." Brad argued as he grabbed his board and stood up straight, tucking the board between his ribs and bicep as he turned to face his mechanical friends.

"I may have a built in skateboard but I weight 600lbs. Do you need me to carry your 5lb skateboard for you?" Jenny said in a mocking tone, folding her arms as she spoke.

"Ha ha very funny..." Brad replied as the trio began their journey home. They had spent the entire evening skating. The sky above them had begun to turn orange as the sun hung low. After a short period of walking, they reached the point in their path home where Brad and Jenny must go their separate ways, "I had a great time with you today Jen." Brad said shyly, "I'll...see you at school, goodnight." Brad leaned forward and hugged her. The action caught Jenny a little off guard but she returned the embrace.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow Brad." She waved as they turned towards their respective homes. After he was sure they were out of Brad's hearing range, Axle spoke up.

"What was wrong with the human you call Brad?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" Jenny asked back.

"When you two spoke a moment ago, his heart rate elevated. I also observed an increase in blood flow to the facial area. His body language seemed slightly...Erratic." Axle pointed out. Jenny had noticed it to. She just didn't think it was anything important. She now was reviewing the memory file.

"_Why did Brad act that way? _" Jenny processed to herself.

"Jenny?" Axle snapped her from her trance.

"Huh? Oh, I'm sure it was nothing." The two arrived home shortly after. They continued on through the house into the lab grabbing an oil from the fridge along the way, "Hey mom I'm back."

"Hello dear. So, how did you like skating Axle?" Nora asked.

"It was ...Whats the word? Fun that's it, fun." He replied.

"My your speech has improved! How are you able to do that in such a short time period?" Nora asked.

"I observed the facial expressions and lip movements of Brad and Jenny as they spoke, integrating the data into my language algorithm." Axle replied.

"Amazing! Your C.P.U. is able to learn and incorporate learned data on the go!" Sheldon simply rolled his eyes, "Oh what I would give to get my hands on your data processor specifications..." Nora said dreamily.

"Uuuuh, thanks...I guess..." Axle said a little confused.

"Did you guys figure out anything?" Jenny asked.

"A few things that will _definitely_ help me out with my NASA program, but other than that...Its just a highly advanced stasis chamber." Sheldon replied as he wiped away a little moisture from his brow.

"_**YAWWWNN!**_...Whoa, 38% battery left. I think I'm gonna call it an early night guys." Jenny said aloud to no one in particular.

"Goodnight dear. Do you still not require a charge Axle?" Nora asked.

"No, my power core provides me with enough energy, just a little oil every now and then." Axle said.

"Good night guys." Jenny said sleepily as she made her way up the stair case. Sheldon watched Jenny as she walked upstairs and out of the lab. When the door shut, he approached Axle, arms folded behind his back.

"I've been thinking... Jenny is the most advanced robot on Earth, right?" He said aloud, being sure that Nora would over here.

"Well, I don't want to toot my own horn..." Nora said proudly with a smile.

"I wonder... How does Axle compare?" Sheldon asked, his tone dripping with mischief.

"In what context?" Nora asked.

"Battle simulation." Sheldon suggested.

"What an excellent idea! That would give us real world data to compare and contrast the different designs. I may even be able to integrate some elements in my own work." Nora replied excitedly.

"I'm processing the emotion..._**concern**_ at the moment..." Axle said in a worried tone. Sheldon had a devious grin on his face as he followed them to the simulation are in the backyard.

**Later that week**

The next few days passed by rather quickly. Sheldon and Nora spent most of their time studying the results of various experiments and scans they tried on Axle. Most notably how he scored higher than Jenny in every category. Strength, speed, and armor all superior to Jenny's. Mrs. Wakeman payed special attention to these areas, takings notes for her designs. Sheldon and Nora both decided to break from their work and enjoy a cup of tea. They had concluded that Axle was of no threat and allowed him to roam freely, so long as he agreed to stay out of sight, "I'm telling you Nora, there's something not right about him. I can feel it in my bones." Sheldon said as he and Nora sipped from their cups.

"He's been extremely patient with our experiments and hasn't shown any signs of being a threat. I think your jealousy is getting the best of you." Nora replied.

"_**JEALOUSY!**_ I'm not jealous! I'm-I'm _**concerned**_...We still know nothing about his origin or missing memory files...And what about the unexplained static showing up in our video recordings? Its like, an unknown signal is being broadcast, crossing up with your cameras frequency." He took a sip from his cup and set it back down, "It took a lot of string pulling, but I managed to convince NASA to point Hubble at those coordinates, and guess what, there's nothing there! Not even a meteor! And definitely no sign of a planetary explosion!" Sheldon exclaimed.

"Maybe we miss interpreted the binary language, We were solving alien equations with Earth math...Besides, I wouldn't antagonize him if I were you. You know as well as I do that he's stronger, faster and tougher than my daughter." Nora explained. Sheldon huffed at her words.

"Well, I've been at it for a while, I think I'm going to call it a day." He stood from the kitchen table, "I just don't want anything to happen to her..." He blushed vividly and excused himself from her house.

_ "Sheldon, Sheldon, Sheldon...What a mess you are..."_ Nora thought to herself as she heard the front door slam.

"Misinterpreted his binary language my _**ass!**_" Sheldon vented, "Jenny translated it herself! No one believes me! Well, I'll prove he's up to no good! Or better yet...The Silver Shell will!" With determination in his mind, Sheldon ran all the way home and into his garage. There, under a white sheet, was his greatest creation. He quickly pulled the cloth away, opened the hatch, and hopped inside, "Alright Axle! Time to find out who you really are!" The Silver Shell flew out of a hatch in the roof, tracking a small, slightly radioactive trail.

**On the outskirts of town**

Meanwhile, two best friends were about to embark on a journey of their own. A journey that all teens awkwardly stumble along. Brad and Jenny were sitting on the edge of Tremerton's famous look out point. It was a cool day even though the sun was shining bright. The two were simply enjoying the view, the entire town could be seen from this spot, "Wow, Brad this is really nice. Why did you bring me here?" Jenny asked. She may not get much attention from boys but, she knew this place was very popular among the romantically involved.

"I have something important I want to tell you..." Brad paused long enough to look Jenny in the eyes as he spoke, "I know we've been friends for a long time...And I know you don't have much time left and...I would hate myself if I didn't say it..." Brad was fumbling with his words, "Jen, I-I want to be more than friends..." The words fell upon Jennifer's audio sensors like a beautiful melody, yet they seemed to carry the weight of the world with them. She starred, speechless back at him, not because she didn't like Brad, she truly enjoyed his company and deep down, loved his sense of adventure, she even found him attractive. It's just, she knew the hardships they would face. The world had never really accepted robots with free will, thanks to Vexes. If anyone found out, they would be ridiculed and hated. Not only that but, she had been processing about Axle, and the strange connection she felt with him since day one, like they were made for each other. Literally.

"Brad I..." She paused, her C.P.U. humming with the processes of what the future may hold, "Yes...I would like that." She looked him in the eyes. The two reached towards each others hand until they gently touched. Jenny couldn't feel Brads hand on hers but, she closed her eyes and her circuits went abuzz with the thought of her first real relationship. She knew in the back of her C.P.U. this was wouldn't end well but, for one day she needed to feel wanted. Let the troubles of tomorrow, come then.

**Hawaii**

Half a world away, Sheldon had tracked down Axle's radiation signature. He was standing on a small over hanging ledge on the side of Mauna Kea. Shell flew up silently and landed about 20ft behind him. The setting sun was shining from in-front of Axle, stretching a long black shadow across the ground with it's fading light.

"I picked up your signal on my radar a while back...Who are you and what do you want?" Axle asked, sounding half awake. Not bothering to turn around.

"I'm The Silver Shell!" Shell bellowed in a deep bar-atone, "And I've been looking for you. My friend Sheldon told me about you and I came to give you a message."

"Sheldon doesn't trust me. What's the message." Axle said a little coldly.

"Err...Well, you better not try any funny business around Jenny or you'll have deal with me! Got it!" Shell threatened.

"I would never harm Jenny, or anyone else. I care about her to much..." Axle's voice drifted a little. This was not the answer Shell expected or wanted to hear, "What do you mean you _**care**_ about her to much." Shell asked in a mocking tone.

"I don't know...Since the day I met her I've felt...drawn to her, like we're connected..." Axle replied. Sheldon fumed inside, "Look Pal..." Shell walked towards Axle, speaking in a condensing manner, "I've been her friend for a long time you've known her for a few _**days!**_ I don't _**trust**_ you or _**like**_ you! If you even think about-" Axle cut him off, he turned around and met him in his walk. He starred straight up Shells chest into his optics.

"Leave me alone. I'm not here to hurt anyone _**especially**_ not Jenny! What's your malfunction?" He asked harshly.

"I'm looking out for a friend! Your the one with the problem space boy!" Shell jabbed his giant finger in Axle's chest and slide him backwards a few inches, _**"And I'm it!"**_ Axle gritted his teeth. He didn't like being pushed. He took a firm stance and shoved Shell hard. Harder than he intended causing, him to sail backwards into the mountain side. Shell recovered and stood up, glaring daggers back at him, _**"I knew you were dangerous! I'll make sure you never harm her!"**_ Shell sprinted towards Axle a few yards then activated his rockets. Flying low and fast, he caught Axle off guard and tackled him. The two tumbled over and over on the ground trading blows at close range while rolling. Shell's blows weren't causing any damage, only tearing his clothes and damaging the silicon like "skin" around his armor. Axle's blows rang out with the sound of warping metal as they began to dent Shell. The two rolled off the side of the mountain, Shell grabbed Axle by the ankle and used the extra momentum of gravity to throw him down to fast for him to active his rockets. Axle slammed hard through a tree and into the ground leaving an indention. Before he had time to react, he was hit by the Shell's eye lasers, _**"I've got you in my sights!"**_ Shell gloated, smiling as he landed on the sandy beach and stood battle ready. Axle raised from the hole as the warm Hawaiian air pulled the dust away. He starred back at Shell blankly. The skin like silicon hanging off his chest and face, revealing dull Grey metal underneath. After a second of starring each other down, Axle's muscle plates all slide apart about a quarter inch, ripping the skin even more and revealing black metallic muscle fibers within the gaps, "What the hell?" Shell exclaimed. Alarms sounded inside the Silver Shells armor as Axle's temperature began to rise along with his radiation level. Before Shells optics could even register movement, Axle had landed by his right side. He grabbed Shell's right arm, twisted it one full rotation and with one quick jerk, pulled it clean off. He then elbowed Shell in the rib plate, leaving a huge dent and sending him skipping across the water. Shell activated his flight stabilizing systems and stopped himself only to be grabbed around the face plate by Axle, squeezing just enough to crack his optic lenses. After a moment of silence, Shell had enough and broke the tension, "Do it. You know you want to. We both know deep down, your no good..." Axle released Shell from his grip. The two starred at each other, hovering above the water.

"I'm not going to harm you, your a friend of Jenny's and I'm not evil." Axle said in a deep growl, "I don't understand you at all Sheldon."

"What are you talking about?" Shell asked, faking ignorance.

"I can _**literally**_ see right through you Sheldon. I can see you care deeply for Jenny, but you've taken it to far. Disguising yourself to stalk her...Its pathetic." Sheldon snarled inside the suit, "Do you even know why I'm out here? She's is on a date with Brad. I came out here to process a few things..." Sheldon was taken back by everything Axle said but, the news of Jenny and brad struck him the hardest,

_** "She's on a date! With Brad!"**_ Shell exclaimed.

"Yeah...It made me feel...odd. When I seen the two of them at look out point, I just had to get away. If you really care about her, you wont interfere." Shell just hovered in silence. Axle slowly returned to his normal size as he deactivated his power core. He scanned himself and the damage caused by The Silver Shell and sighed, "Well...so much for trying to blend in. I'm going to head back to Wakeman's place." Axle said calmly, "I'll catch you later...Sheldon..." Axle's last sentence was a little more stern sounding. With that Axle flew off, leaving Sheldon to think.

**Nora's lab**

Jenny had returned home. The mother and daughter were talking about the nice evening Brad had treated her to. Jenny was sitting on a table with her legs dangling off the edge, just a short distance from her mother, "...He even held my hand all the way home." Jenny said.

"It sounds as though you two had quite an evening. You don't seem to excited about it though." Nora pried. Jenny starred straight down at the floor.

"We did it's just that...I don't want all the hate around me to fall on him...I don't have much time left and Brad shouldn't be wasting his reputation on an electronic artificial female..." Jenny replied sadly. Nora turned from her work towards her daughter.

"It's his choice to bare such burden. Bradly is a strong young man, just like his father." A long, silent pause filled the room, "Diane." Nora said, breaking the silence. Jenny looked up at her mother a little confused.

"Diane? Whats that mean?" She asked.

"It's the name I had picked out for my little girl. Until I found out I had lost the ability to conceive..." Nora looked down for a moment then back to her daughter. Her eyes now held a small sparkle in them as tears held fast for years dared to escape, "I never told you this before but, it's the reason I decided to dedicate my life to science...I've been so caught up in my work that...that I failed to see just what miracle I had created only 6 short years ago." Nora walked to her daughter and placed her hands on her shoulders, "I want you to have the name. Jennifer Diane Wakeman." Jenny couldn't hold back her tears as she looked her mother in the eyes.

"Does...does this mean...?" She tearfully asked.

"For now, lets just say your activation day is going to be something else." Nora explained as she hugged her daughter. In the midst of their hug, Jenny detected a familiar presence approaching. She pulled away from her mother and starred in the direction the feelings came from.

"What's the matter dear? Do you detect something?" Nora asked.

"It's Axle, he'll be here in a few minutes." Jenny looked back at her mother, "Mom...There's another reason why I'm not so excited about me an Brad...It's because...I feel a connection towards Axle. Something I've never felt before." Nora sat back in her chair and looked at her daughter puzzled,

"Hmm, you are equipped with numerous wireless connection points and sensory equipment...Is there a malfunction with any of those systems?" Nora asked.

"No, its not any of those but, at the same time it is. It gets stronger the closer we are. It's a wireless connection but...I...I just can't explain it. Its like were on the same frequency, you know?" Jenny tried to explain.

"Jennifer that's impossible. You are equipped with a one of a kind Alpha Type Variable Frequency Timer. Twenty times per second, every operating system in your body switches to a random frequency, making it _**impossible**_ to hack or control you in anyway. I was court ordered to do something after Todd Sweeney and Dr. Locust managed to gain remote access to your central motor control cortex." Nora explained.

"I know it sounds crazy, but its how I feel." Jennifer sheepishly replied. Nora simply pondered quietly to herself.

_ "No one on Earth has the ability to duplicate that technology..." _She thought.The sound of a rattling door nob broke her train of thought. Axle walked slowly down the stairs. He was greeted by the shocked expression of Jenny.

_** "Oh, my gosh what happened!"**_ Jenny asked as she ran up to him.

"I had a little run in with a friend of yours...goes by the name Silver Shell." Axle huffed.

"Shell did this? Why?" Nora asked.

"I don't know...He tracked me down. He told me I had better be careful around Jenny or he would deal with me." Axle made quotation marks with his hands as he said deal, "Then he pushed me and I lost my temper..."

"Are you OK?" Jenny asked as the six and a half foot tall robot looked down at him with general concern.

"I'm fine. My skins beyond repair though...Oh well...so much for the human look." Axle grabbed his skin at the waste line and ripped it up and off his entire upper body. His shirt came with it to reveal his bare chassis. His ears came off as well as the hair like fibers. Jenny's coolant began circulating faster, trying to keep her internal temperature down so her cheeks wouldn't glow blue. Axle threw his skin to the side and starred up at Jenny. The two could definitely feel the strange connection now, "I...I better go in the storage room and remove the rest..." Axle said as he turned and walked away. Jenny let out a sigh. Nora patiently observed the the whole scene.

"I'm going out on patrol. I'll be back by ten." Jenny said then exited the lab.

"Strange, very strange..." Nora spoke to herself as she grabbed the skin from her lab floor.

**The sky over Tremorton**

Jenny had scanned all of Tremerton 37 times in the past hour. No crime which only made things worse. She had nothing else to think about other than Brad and Axle, _"I don't know what to do...I don't want to hurt Brad but I can't help these feelings for Axle. It's like I'm drawn to him. I'm so confused ... I __know! Vega can probably help!" _She stopped in mid air, converted her left pig tail into a parabolic dish and folded out her monitor. The screen read _**"searching for signal"**_. She waited for about a minute only for the screen to say _**"Cluster Prime signal could not be found"**_, "What the hell? How can an entire planet full of robots not put a single signal? Maybe I am malfunctioning..." Jenny dismissed the idea and cleared her C.P.U. as she continued her patrol.

**Cluster Prime: Three Months Ago**

The squeak of a wheel in need of grease could be heard echoing down an immaculate hallway. Rolling past construction bots as they were finishing the new Vega statues. Smiles and _**"whats up"**_ head nods greeted Drab as he rolled towards the throne room. Past generals would have commanded more respect but, Drab really just wanted to be one of the bots. He stopped at the large doors to the throne room and entered his personal identification access code. The gold trimmed doors slow swung inward, allowing him entrance. Queen Vega was speaking with the Head of Council on the newly formed Civil Militia. Vega glanced to her right quickly at Drab as he entered mid conversation, "I see your point Councilor, it will receive my fullest attention, right now though, it seems my General has urgent news." Spoke the Queen, with all the regalement her title implies. Councilor Chor gave Drab a slightly annoyed glance before bowing to the Queen and taking his leave. Vega waited until the doors closed behind Chor before speaking, "Thanks for the save Drab! So, what's up?" Vega asked cheerfully.

"We just got a report in from Shell." Drab handed Vega a flat thin monitor displaying satellite imagery from the planets defense ring. Vega scanned through the images as Drab spoke, "It's the fleet of Hive ships that escaped 8 data cycles ago. They've returned...Two roach drowns were witnessed carrying a small cargo package." Vega starred intensely at the grainy image showing the roach drones carrying a small white dot in a glass like container, "Intel from Tuff says their putting a lot of resources into bio-mechanical R&D." Vega gripped the the tablet tightly, "Rumors have been bouncing around the Militia...Your the only one I know who can confirm it or not." Drab said. Vega looked back to him with the an intense expression.

"Tell Shell I want around the data cycle satellite observation of the base and tell Tuff to be careful..." Her words carried a worried tone.

"Veg...I have to tell the rest of the Militia something." Drab pleaded.

"Tell them to stay alert, trouble has arrived..."


	3. My Life As

**CHAPTER III**

**My Life As...**

_** "Perspective, time teaches this lesson best of all. Becoming the dusty mirror for us to reflect upon."**_

_** R.D.M.**_

**Tremerton High**

He once strolled the hallways as a King. He had even earned the respect of the ever critical Crust Cousins. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. It didn't take long, the rumors, the whispers in all the classrooms, the stares in the lunchroom. With each, his reputation diminished. He cleared his mind as he entered his locker combination and opened it. A folded piece of paper fell to the floor. He kneel-ed down, grabbed the paper and unfolded it as he stood again, _**"Robot Fucker"**_ It read. He simply crushed the note and tossed it over his shoulder. The past few weeks had tempered his resolve. When news finally broke of his relationship with Jenny, the gentle current of high school popularity, quickly turned into a rip tide of hate from which he could not escape. Brad took a drink from his sports bottle then disrobed from his football uniform. He was sure to take his time, allowing his teammates to leave so he could shower in peace. The warm water felt relieving and relaxing on his sore muscles and washed away his thoughts, if only for the moment. As he lathered himself, a noise caught his attention. Faint, but he was sure it was the door to the locker room, "Whose there?" He asked over the roar of the shower, no response, _"Most be my imagination..." _He decided and continued. After a few minutes, another sound came from the locker room, no mistake this time. He cut off the water, grabbed his towel and covered his bare body. Stepping through the steam, he glanced down the locker rows. Nothing, he went to his locker to get his normal cloths when suddenly, he felt weak. His hands trembled as he fiddled with the lock and found that he could not read the numbers, _"Why am I squinting?" _He briefly pondered. He also noticed his heart rate begin to increase. Vision slightly blurry.

"Roofies..." An upscale British accent purred from behind. Brad spun to see Brittney Crust leaned against the shower doorway. "Bradley Carbunkle...Star of the Temerton Quakers...The coolest person in the entire school and...A _**robot fucker**_..."

"What...What did you do to me?" Brad drunkenly questioned.

"Just a little something to help you relax." Brad turned towards the exit only to take a few steps and lean against the lockers. Tiffany Crust was standing in his way wearing no more than bra, panties and a smile, "My dear cousin, however, added a little something extra..."

"What are you...talking about..." Brad sleepily questioned. He found his answer as he glanced towards the floor and seen his member at "attention". A hand entered his view as Tiff grabbed a hold.

"Looks like lil Brad's ready ta play!" Before Brad could react, she snatched away his towel and dropped it beside her.

"Don't be shy now Bradly." The Brit purred once more, "We want a grand show for our friend Jenny! After all...Her activation day is coming up..." Brad noticed something in the Louie Prada covered devil's hand. His eyes wouldn't tell him what.

"Dem pills said day last foe hours. We gonna get a _**show!**_" Tiffany, simultaneously, removed her bra and mutilated the English language, "An here's tha first scene!" Tiff knee-led down in-front of Brad, taking his member in hand,

"Tell us now Bradly, do you truly prefer cold steel to warm flesh?" Brittney added as Tiff's mouth enveloped him. His eyes grew dark as he felt the painful pleasure.

_ "Jenny I...I'm sorry"_

**The Himalayas**

** "YEEEAAAHHHH!" **Gasping onlookers ducked as a mechanical bovine sailed overhead, crashing into a building side. The newly legless beast starred, confused at his assailant. A silent, blue laser through the left optic was all the clarification it received. The hero of the moment smiled at her good deed. Basking in the satisfaction of fulfilling her prime objective yet again. She scanned the area to see the admiration of the crowd. Her C.P.U. only processes a live stream of conflicting data. Blank stares, hasty glances, and looks of down right disappointment.

_ "I don't understand...I saved them..." _The scene paused on the pedestrians judgmental faces, **"Memory playback halted"** The text appeared across Jennifer Diane Wakeman's optical lenses. She opened her eyes, taking in the view from the peak of Mt. Everest. This place was her Fortress of Solitude. The harsh cold did little more than allow her C.P.U. to operate more efficiently. With her external audio sensors deactivated, it was the perfect place for her to process, categorize and file the days data. She decided not to categorize this file, opting instead to add it to her hard drive under the sub routine, **"Optional Storage"** Not something she wanted to remember but, she felt it important to keep for the time being anyway. Her C.P.U. grew blank as she looked up at the blue heavens. This was the real reason she liked coming here, the view of the sky. She allowed a smile to creep across her face as another memory file began to play.

**Flashback**

Two weeks, five days, ten hours, eighteen minutes, thirty two seconds ago, a mere month and a half into Brad and Jennifer's awkward romance, the couple found themselves marooned on a remote island after a surprisingly rough battle with Killgore. Jenny had exhausted her energy supply in the fight with previously harmless toy, who had mysteriously managed to become an actual threat. He was babbling on insanely about Cluster Prime, the Hive and ultimate power. Unable to overpower him, she was forced to use an E.M.P burst, which drained most of her power. She deployed her solar panels to try and charge, but they knew they would have to spend the night. As night fell Brad had built a fire, the two sat beside each other, just as they had done before in the bed of his truck, starring at the stars. Brad always enjoyed the stars. He always told her she was lucky, because she could fly up there anytime she wanted. She processed that very file and smiled to herself. The cool night air brought Brad closer to Jenny. She could hear the unusually high heart rate she had gotten used to at these moments. She smiled as he placed his left arm around her shoulders, pulling himself as close as possible to her. She tilted her head to his shoulder to speak but Brad cut her off with his index finger on her metal lips. He looked into her optics with the same old eyes yet, they held something new in their gaze that the robot girl could not figure out but, she wanted to. He slid the finger down and caress her face with the hand and softly spoke, "Tonight...I want you to take me to the stars..."

**End of flashbox**

**"Memory playback halted"** The text once more appeared. **"Filling under social interaction."** Sweetest torture was the memory. Jenny could not physically feel the events of that night, but her C.P.U. had developed it's own way to stimulate such things. Her programs and transistors fired in a dazzling order as they copulated as best they could. She hated the fact that, she wasn't fully equipped. There's only so much a robot can do. News of their relationship, and actions, became public, society turned on them. Brad received the heaviest portion of the harassment, the world had come to accept XJ-9 for all she had done for them. She had become tempered to those who lashed out at her still but, Brad had a very hard time. Society's harsh treatment coupled with her inability to completely satisfy his needs, caused a major obstacle in there relationship. She mentally sighed to clear her programs, "Three days until my activation day...at least I'm not being deactivated." She spoke to herself, "I wonder what moms got planned? Her and Axle have been locked up in her lab and they wont let me in...Axle..." Jenny spoke to herself. It didn't help her relationship with Brad any that her and Axle had been talking through wireless transmissions. They had even co-operated a few times to stop various criminal activities. She loved Brad for all he's done for her but, like all good things, she knew from the beginning it wouldn't last.

**Nora's lab**

"Astounding..." Nora allowed the word to roll off her tongue softly, as she scrolled through the information on her monitor. One terabyte of data never seen by human eyes. Sure, she had to delete her hard drive to make room, but she had it all memorized anyway. The past few weeks had been one long chain of new discoveries, linked together with scientific breakthroughs not seen in a hundred years. Shortly after his run in with The Silver Shell, Axle decided to give Nora a copy of his blue print file. He told her he trusted her, he said it was an act of faith to try and earn the trust of all his new friends. Whatever his reasons, Nora was on cloud nine. Formulas for new longer lasting hydraulic fluids, detailed specifications of his processor operating speeds and a elemental table, graphing all compounds inside the super strong materials that made up his body. And she could not tell anyone, she swore on her Nobel Price that the information would never leave her lab. She was, however, allowed to incorporate whatever she could into XJ-10. Oddly, shortly after providing this data, Axle began to slowly remember how he was created. He couldn't explain it, "It just popped in my head..." He told her. Nora stood from her chair and strolled over to her newly built Hydrodynamic Electromagnetic Forging Tank. She gazed at the amazing machine Axle had helped her build. The machine took one week to assemble. Little more than a giant vat made from tempered glass with an electromagnet on its top. The construction was rather easy. It was the computer programming that controlled it's automated functions that required the most work. The tank was filled with a soup of metallic based substances; Gold, Nickle, Lead, Titanium, all brought to a boil. Within the soup, hung a very humanoid shaped arm not fully formed. The site reminded her of a certain movie series from a bygone era. The machine worked by hanging a thin wire frame of the desired shape in the tank. The the tank would then be filled with the metal soup. Once it reached the proper temperature, Electromagnetic pulses of various degrees, frequencies, and timings were applied in a complex sequence. Causing the metal atoms to merge into elements, bonding them to the frame simultaneously. This created an extremely strong, aerodynamic one piece structure. Once the piece was finished forming, it was removed to cool and the new frame went in. Piece by piece, the main structure, or skeleton, of XJ-10 formed over the past week. Anticipation grew as completion neared, not of success, rather for the sight of joy on her daughters face. Though technically 6 1/2 years old, Jenny had been a 16 year old for 6 years. XJ-10 would reflect an appearance of what Jenny should look like if she could age. Nora couldn't help but feel disappointed, her creation wouldn't be completed in three short days. Complications of reverse engineering Axle's nervous system. "Truly astounding...Fiber optic nervous systems...nanites that use carbon from petroleum intake to repair the host automaton...You are so advanced...Far beyond anything I have ever seen..." Nora turned back to her monitor, "I think I'll analyze this data a little closer, see if there are any clues to our mysterious guests past."

**The Pacific Seafloor**

"What's wrong with me..." A slightly digitized voice asked the inky abyss, **"All systems functioning normally at 100%"** The text appeared in his H.U.D. across a black canvass. He knew something was wrong, weather his systems check indicated it or not. No memory files of who he actually was or where he's from. Not a single byte of data describing his home world. Then, two weeks ago, new files suddenly appear in his memory banks. He felt a slight vibration from the back of his head, at the base of his C.P.U. housing, just before he detected them. It was the same feeling he got when he received a transmission from Jenny. Axle reached back and rubbed the spot. That wasn't the only thing troubling him. Since he arrived, at random points, his optic and audio sensors would record and store data in an encrypted that file even he could not access. Worst of all, he would always get the same vibration feeling after, "Why can't I access my own files?" Another question cast out into the briny deep, if Poseidon heard he did not respond. He pointed his right arm out in front of him and held his hand vertically, letting loose a bright ball of yellow energy. It struck the sea floor a few hundred yards away like a cruise missile, sending a plume of silt high into water. The only knowledge he had of his home world was it's location. He hacked into various government satellite systems of the past few days, trying to examine the coordinates himself. Much like where he stood, he found nothing. He did, however, discover information about the Hive. It seems that, after the fall of Queen Vexes, at the hands of Jennifer and her mother, Cluster Prime was divided. Vega became ruler by oil line and choice of the people, but the military remained loyal to Vexes. With the citizens of Cluster Prime having their golden chips once more and the military their numbers, equipment, and combat programming, an oil stained line was drawn through the planet. According to documents, no clear leader of the Hive was ever discovered. Axle knew. The big one with a horn, he looked like hell, pieced together with scrap metal held together by crud welds. The one that came to his world. He concentrated on the image, opening up what few memory files he had, layering all information together. He began to notice a pattern in the data. Like pieces of a puzzle scattered throughout his hard drive. He managed to locate all of the bytes and piece them back together. What he was left with was a brief video file. He immediately played the clip, hoping answers would lay within. **"Memory file playing"** Axle opened his eyes and glanced around at his surroundings. He was strapped, vertically to a wall of some sort, "DV-2 is online Smytus." A small voice squeaked. Axle turned his head in its direction to see a roach drone speaking to a giant robot. The big one, called Smytus, simply spun around and looked him directly in the optics with a smile, "I'll inform the tru-" The memory file stopped. Axle stood bewildered. The file showed him in a lab of some kind. No planetary explosion. He tried to search for more information, only to feel the vibration once more and receiving an access denied message, **"FUCK!"** He cursed the sea. Something was definitely wrong. He quickly scanned for Jenny's signal. Maybe she could help, and for some strange reason, he suddenly felt he had to be near her.

**The Lee residence**

A trail of Blue Bull energy drink bottles lead from the kitchen into the garage. Sheldon was hunched over in a chair, typing away on his laptop. He had become a recluse since his run in with Axle in Hawaii. The news of Jenny and Brads romance destroyed him. He truly considered Brad a friend, so he aimed all of his anger at Axle. He had become obsessed with proving that Axle's true intentions were sinister. Even now, he was busy compiling his evidence, **"1.( Virtually no memory files of his home world or life. 2.) Conflicting background data, no evidence of a planet at those coordinates. 3.) Randomly causes interference with audio and video signals. 4.) Radioactive..."** Sheldon stopped typing. He couldn't think straight anymore. He hadn't slept in days. To busy hacking Nora's private computer network, looking for evidence of what he knew to be true. He found Axle's blueprints. There wasn't enough time to download the entire set without detection, so he copied as much as he could. He rubbed his red eyes as he leaned back in his chair and allowed his head to hang over the back rest. He opened his eyes to see his Silver Shell suite starring back at him. Big, bold, intimidating...Everything he's not. He set back up straight in his chair and spun around. He's misshaped reflection starred him down from The Silver Shells chest. Both his greatest success and biggest failure, Sheldon frowned back, "You were supposed to make everything better...You were supposed to win Jenny's heart..." Sheldon's frown turned to a grimace as he grabbed a near by wrench and threw it at the suit. It merely bounced off, not even scuffing the high gloss finish. Sheldon smiled at this. It was a new polymer, scratch resistant. He made it from the element table he found in Axle's data. Another reason why he hadn't been seen by his friends, to busy repairing and upgrading the Silver Shell. "Next time Axle...I'll be ready..." The new Silver Shell was bigger and stronger than the last model. It was loosely based off of Sheldon's second favorite hero, The Invincible Bulk. Thanks to Axle's data, the suit was much more streamlined, more human looking with muscle like definition. The head changed as well, no more mouth, no more small antenna. His eyes slanted into a judgmental stare. A low beeping sound caused him to turn to his laptop. It was his radar, it was detecting a signal moving fast in his general direction. Jenny was on the move, heading towards Brads house. Another beep, something was following her. Sheldon scanned the energy trail, **"Radiation level confirmed"** scrolled across his screen, "Axle..." Sheldon said coldly, "He's after her! I can't let anything happen to her.!" Sheldon typed in a few commands and closed his computer as the Silver Shells eyes lit up.

**Cluster Prim: Two months before Axle's arrival**

Queen Vega's optics hinged open as her palace walls shook violently enough to free ceiling paneling which slammed to the cracked floor. The Clusterquake stopped as suddenly as it began. Vega flung back her royal silicon sheets and hopped out of bed, wearing no more than her under-paneling, she ran to her communication station, _**"Shell! What the hell just happened!"**_ Vega demanded.

"I-I'm not sure!" Shell answered back hastily, "Scans indicate, the entire planet just experienced a massive seismic event! It originated from a single point...Hive base!" Vega gasped, "Oh my...Radiation levels are off the charts...The data indicates, for a brief moment, there was a star present inside Hive base!" Shell replied.

"What! That's impossible! Just...Just continue to monitor the base and keep me posted, I'll contact Drab and have him ready the militia. I don't know what their up to, but we must be prepared." Vega killed the com link. She rubbed her head trying compose herself, most of her systems were still in a low power state from sleep-mode. After a moment she typed in Drabs video link code. A short loading symbol appeared then Drabs face.

"Vega! Thank Jobs your...Your...In your under-paneling!" Drab said startled. Vega's optics grew wide as she realized her folly. Her now boiling coolant caused her cheek plates to turn red hot.

_"Oh well..." _She thought to herself, "We have more important matters at the moment, have you heard from Tuff?"

"Uh, no...No he's two cycles past his report date." Drab said as he looked away typing on his computer to bring up Tuff's last report, "Last update was nine cycles ago...His report states that the Hive is working on some kind of secrete weapon...A broadcasting array of some sort. He couldn't ever get anything concrete as far as why their building it. It also says they have captured an unknown life-form for experimentation. Their body's are made up of energy."

"Why wasn't I informed of this?" The Queen asked in a sharp tone.

"I apologize. It's my fault. I've been so busy dealing with the militia's training..." Drab tried to explain.

"It's to late to worry about it now, prepare them. I want a perimeter set up around Hive base before dawn. Nothing goes in or out without my knowledge." Drab hung his head, feeling terrible for his mistake, "Oh and Drab?"

"Yeah, Veg?" He answered in a worried tone.

"When this is all over, you owe me one for this little peep show..." She spoke with a devilish grin and coy voice.

"Is that a direct order my Queen?" Drab questioned with a grin of his own.

"High priority." Vega replied as she turned off the monitor.


	4. Divided We Fall

**CHAPTER IV**

**Divided We Fall**

_** "The universe is birthed of chaos, and as such, it is law. Sooner or later, the law will come into affect. Take refuge in the knowledge that your inability to comprehend what is happening, is just another expression of this fact...And remember, the idea of a tomorrow, is the definition of borrowed time."**_

_** R.D.M.**_

**Noreen Wakeman's lab**

In a dimly lit room, filled wall to wall with all manner of computation technology, low pitched hums and barely audible beeps drift on the still air. Tiny L.E.D lights flash a rainbow of colors. A claustrophobic dungeon to some, haven from a world of idiosyncratic fools to Nora Wakeman. She had decided to break from her work by propping her feet up on her desk, she idly thumbed through an old Science Friction magazine, _"The good ole days..." _She thought to herself as she looked at the young red head featured on the cover. **"ALERT! ALERT!" **Her random threat indicator ended her all to short break. She returned to her previous upright position. After a few quick key strokes, a satellite image of the Earth appeared on her monitor. A small, red blinking dot indicated the location of the threat, "Hmmmm...an A class meteorite, far to small to be a threat...I don't recall any astrological objects being in the vicinity...Lets see it's point of origin..." The image zoomed out to show the Earth and Moon. A doted line passed through the meteors center, showing its projected path and point of origin, "Odd, it appeared moments ago at the exact spot our guess...Scanners read low radiation levels, metallic composition and..._**Headed for Tremerton!**_ This is more than a mere _**coincidence**_, I had better inform Jennifer."

**The sky's above America**

Jenny was currently indulging in one of her favorite pass time, streaking in and out of the clouds high above North America, taking her time heading home. Her communications monitor suddenly unfolded as she dipped out of the white vapor, "Jennifer, there is an A class meteor heading towards the Earth. I need you to intercept it in space before it reaches the atmosphere." Nora spoke with more haste than usual.

"Those A classes always burn up in the atmosphere." Jenny dismissed.

"Yes, but this particular meteor _**appeared**_ suddenly at the exact same coordinates as Axle. It also has a radiation level and is metallic. It is currently heading towards Tremerton of all places. I want you to intercept and examine it before it burns up." At that moment, an object came into Jenny's radar field,

"Speak of the devil...I got to go mom, Axle's headed my way." Jenny retracted her communications monitor faster than her mother could reply. She stopped and took up position, hovering in mid air with her arms folded and looking very irritated, waiting for Axle to arrive. Axle was approaching at mach 5. Jenny, quickly ran through a list of questions she prepared before he arrived, ready to fire them off in rapid succession, putting him on the spot. She wouldn't get the opportunity, out of no where, a beam of purple energy struck Axle in the chest, exploding on impact. Jenny was stunned for a few nanoseconds after the attack. The sight of Axle plummeting towards the ground snapped her back. She quickly scanned the terrain below. According to her trajectory calculations, the blast came from, "Sheldon's house?" Jenny perked an eyebrow as she swooped down to catch Axle before he impacted. She extended her left arm out. Just as she was about to grab him, two massive robotic arms wrapped around her from behind, pinning her arms to her side, "You got about two seconds to drop me or..." Jenny demanded, while retracting her arm, but was interrupted by a familiar yet darker voice.

"He is the enemy XJ-9! Do not help him." The voice informed. Jenny could only struggle as Axle fell. He impacted with enough force to create a crater the size of a swimming pool just down the road from her own home. Only then did the arms restraining her release their grip. She immediately slammed the back of her head into her attackers face, pulled her knees tightly to her abdomen and squarely planted the heels of her feet into her opponent's abdomen. Using the force of the blow, she shoved away, spinning in the air to see her assailant in one fast motion, "Jennifer...it's me, The Silver Shell." Jenny stared in shock at the giant bot in front of her. He indeed looked like The Silver Shell she knew yet, different, more human, and bigger. Her shock quickly turned to rage and she squeezed her fists tight.

_**"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!"**_ She yelled at an eardrum shattering decibel, ignoring the changes in her old friends appearance.

"Please hear me out! I managed to hack into Axle's radio frequency a awhile back. He's been receiving and broadcasting information to an unknown location outside of Earths orbit. The transmissions are heavily encrypted, I haven't been able to decode them...Yet." Shell tried to explain, "I-uh stumbled across his blueprints too."

"Oh, you just _**stumbled**_ across secure files on my mothers computer?" Jenny irritatedly asked, "And you decided to used them to upgrade yourself? _**Obviously.**_ That's why I couldn't break free!" Her anger rose as she spoke, "You broke into my Mother's lab and stole from her for your own personal gain!"

"No! It's not like that at all! I was looking for more information about him! I didn't know where else to look! He's up to something and I knew I couldn't beat him the way I was..." Shell tried to defend his actions, "I knew I couldn't stop him unless I upgraded." By now, Jenny had begun to tremble with anger, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" Jenny didn't let him finish.

"After I check on him, we're going to have a little _**chit chat...**_" Jennifer said coldly, as she shot towards the ground. The Silver Shell followed suit. She landed beside Axle, who was sitting upright in the crater's center, legs straight out in front, his upper half was hunched over, and his face blank of all expression. His shirt was ripped apart and burned open in the front. His flat matte Grey chest scorched black, "You OK?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Axle said flatly, "But he wont be..." Axle spoke as Shell landed on the crates edge. The two locked optics, Shell starred down on him with judgmental eyes, Axle eyed him back, like a predator. Before Jenny could protest, Axle fired a blue ball of energy from his left hand, striking the craters edge under Shells feet. Shell quickly activated his flight systems and hovered above the attack but, lost track of Axle in the dust cloud. Axle rushed into the thick cloud, throwing a right handed, car crushing blow into what should have been Shells abdomen. The shock-wave from the impact dispelled the dust and reveled that his punch had been stopped dead in the Shells massive left hand.

"_**HA!**_ This wont be like last time!" Shell gloated as he spun around and threw the helpless Axle like a rag doll. He skidded across the grass and onto an asphalt road. Sparks flew as he slid across the street and into a parked car, caving in the side, "I scanned your over all design structure! Why don't you explain to us why your internal systems structure shares a 48% similar design to known Cluster robots." Shell walked towards Axle as he spoke, "And while your at it, explain why the other 52% of your structure is the same as XJ-9's." Axle watched from the crushed car as Jenny landed a little behind Shell. She looked very confused. He peeled himself out of the wreck and stood.

"Your a real piece of work, aren't you Sheldon?" Axle harshly said. Shell flinched.

"Sheldon! What does he have to do with this?" Shell asked, not wanting to be outed in such a way. He stopped dead in his tracks. Axle walked towards him with an evil stare.

"Tell her Sheldon, look her in the eyes and tell her the true. Tell her your the Silver Shell!" Axle angrily yelled.

"Is it true?" Jenny asked through clenched teeth with a look of absolute alienation.

"Jenny I can explain..." He didn't get the chance as a giant spiked fist sent him flying through the air. Axle watched as Shell hurled completely out of sight. He turned to Jenny who had transformed her left hand into a laser limb.

"Your going to tell me everything I want to know." Jenny commanded. Axle gulped. At that same moment, Brad pulled into his driveway. He had just returned from football practice.

"I swear Jenny, I don't know how anything from you or the Cluster got into my designs!" Axle pleaded, "You got to believe me, I would never purposely cause harm to you! I-I-" Just then**, **a thunderous sonic boom interrupted the conversation.

"Cripes! I forgot about the meteor!" Jenny shouted. She activated her rockets and was about to intercept it when Axle stopped her.

"Wait! That's no meteor." Jenny looked back at the object. She watched it slow down and land gracefully on Bradly Carbunkles front lawn. It was a twelve foot tall robot. Similarly designed to a praying mantis. Obviously of Cluster origin yet, it's color scheme was very familiar. Blue antenna, blue chest, white mid section, both legs and arms were blue and white.

"Hey, you! Bug bot! Get out of my yard now! I've tangled with your kind before and I know where your off switch is! I've had a hell of a day!" Brad exclaimed at the trespasser.

"Bradly Carbunkle." The new bot spoke with the regalement of an up scale Britt, "Your threat would be note worthy, if I were of the same _**exact**_ design as my predecessor. For now, be thankful you are not my target." It warned. Jenny and Axle landed in front of Brad, placing themselves between him and the danger.

"Who are you? What do you want and why the hell do you have my paint job?" Jenny commanded more than asked. No response. The large robot simply crossed it's arms and rolled it's optics in boredom, "I'm already pissed off! You better start talking!" She demanded as she stomped a foot deep hole in Brads yard. The droid squinted his eyes as his right arm unfolded into an exact duplicate of Jenny's laser limb. It pointed the weapon at Jenny and began strafing to the left slowly. Jenny and Axle strafed to the right, matching his step.

"Brad you should go inside." Axle suggested.

"Yeah right! This is my house!" Brad yelled while throwing on his football helmet. The bot stopped with Brads house to his back.

"So,you want answers Jennifer? Here is the first: My true target has arrived." The bot let loose a blast amidst the confusion. Jenny easily sidestepped the beam and immediately heard an explosion behind her. They all turned to see Brads parents car in flames. They were returning from picking up Tuck from summer school. Brad immediately hit his knees, Jenny starred in shock, Axle activated his power core to 10%. His size slightly changed as his armor plates slid apart and he charged the mantis droid, landing a knee to its forehead. The robot fell backwards through Brads house. Axle landed on his feet. Brad ran to his parents car. Jenny activated her pigtail rockets and scooped him up before he reached them.

"Brad, I know you'll hate me for this, but I'm taking you to my place until this is over." Brad didn't say a word until they touched down at Jenny's house.

"Jen..." Brad spoke with a voice thick with anger while begrudgingly entering the house.

"Yeah Brad?" Jenny softly asked.

"Destroy that mother fucker." Jenny nodded and Brad slammed the door shut. She took off, achieving as high of a velocity as possible before reaching her target. Axle was busy trading blows with the monster. Axle throw up an energy shield to stop a hail of 50 caliber rounds from a shoulder mounted turret the robot had deployed. The second the gunfire paused, He flew forward and kicked it in it's metal ribs. The bot countered with an elbow to Axle's head, the force shoved him waist deep into the ground and dazed him momentarily. The mantis bot smiled to himself as he pulled his left leg back, about to deliver a devastating kick to the stunned Axle. His systems snapped back to 100% just in time to catch the bots giant leg before impact. The force caused the metal to crumple slightly around his hand, leaving an indention in it's shin. The robots eyes grow wide as Axle raised his right hand and fired a shot square into it's chest, sending it sliding backwards a few yards.

"Heh...You've mucked up my paint job." The bot gloated as it easily recovered.

"Th-That should have blown a hole right through you!" Axle exclaimed.

"_**HAHAHA!**_ Imbecile! We are forged of the same materials! Constructed in the same laboratory! The same oil pumps through our tubes!" Axle looked listened in horror, "I suppose the correct Earth term would be..._**Brother!**_" He couldn't believe his audio receivers.

"Brother? N-no...That's just not-" Axle stated in shock.

"_**Believe it DV-2!**_ I was the first of our kind! Prototype: DV-1! You truly have no memory? No matter, the queen will explain everything when you see her again." Before anymore information could be revealed, Jennifer tackled the bot. The two flew straight through Brads house, exploding through rear wall. Jenny slammed it into the ground on it's back and opened her rockets to 60%. She dragged the robot for a quarter mile on it's back, digging a 2ft deep trench into the Earth.

_** "YOU MONSTER! I'M GOING TO RIP YOU APART!"**_ Jenny screamed as they began to loss momentum. She pounded the robot another foot deep into the ground with her bare fists when they finally stopped. The robot grabbed Jenny by the head and threw her against a tree. It then heaved itself from the crater. Jenny recovered and stood firm. Axle landed beside her.

"You need to stop fighting him Jenny!" Axle said.

"_**Why?**_ So the two of you can have a family reunion?" Jenny asked sarcastically, "I heard everything he said!"

"I don't know exactly whats going on! I don't know if what he said is true!" Axle defended, "Just look at your hands! His armor is stronger than yours and your taking more damage than him!" Jenny glared at the slightly dented robot then down to her hands. They were cracked and leaking oil. Scans indicated fractures in the internal structure of one finger.

"I believe its time to end this _**game...**_" The robot suddenly produced wings from his back, exact replicas of Jenny's. The two antenna on top of it's head began to charge a ball of blue energy between them. It raised it's arms out to it's side and balanced on it's right foot. It brought it's left leg up, parallel to the ground, and pointed it straight at the Axle and Jenny. A row of magnifying lenses, starting at it's head, extended from it's body down to the tip of it's foot.

"That's my Butterfly Cannon!" Jenny exclaimed as the energy flowed through the lenses and out as a intense beam. The beam moved far to fast for Jenny to dodge, but not Axle. He quickly jumped in front of her, taking the impact in the back.

_**"AAARRRRRGGGGHHH!"**_ Axle screamed in pain as the beam melted away his outer armor, exposing his metal spine. As the beam ended he looked up at Jenny and smiled as best he could, "Heh...Just...Just a flesh wound..." He said, then collapsed to the ground at her feet.

_**"OhmygodAxle!"**_ Jenny screeched. She knelled down beside him.

"Jenny...Listen...my sensors say his that attack drained most of his power...You can beat him. Use your weapons..." Oil ran from his mouth as he spoke. He mustered a smile. Jenny, though she wanted to protest, knew she had no choice but to try. She nodded in agreement as she stood to face the enemy.

"And to think, you used to be the ultimate weapon. It seems that your new found kindness for Earthlings has been your undoing. I am puzzled as to why you haven't activated more of you power core. That blast would have been nothing to you at 20%." The bot thought aloud, "The old DV-2 would not have made suck a careless mistake."

_**"You'll pay for that you bastard!"**_ Jenny charged the robot, unleashing hell along the way. She bombarded it with missiles and lasers until she got in close. She turned her hands into giant machetes and began hacking away. The slashes were far to fast for the drained bot to dodge or block. Jenny's blades dented and chipped but, they were cutting gashes into the bots hide. Unable to land a single blow on the much small Jenny, the robot fell to his knees from the energy lost trying to defend it's self. He looked at her and laughed.

"_**Hah!**_ Are you finished yet XJ-9? You can't do any _**real**_ damage to me!...My systems will charge back up eventually...Feel free to try you best until then." The snide remark boiled Jenny's oil. She brought her machetes together and swung with all her might at DV-1's C.P.U. housing. The blades shattered against the side of the robots head. The impact left two deep gouges in it's face and cracked it's left eye. Jenny starred in amazement at the strength of his armor, "Even as weak as I am, you can barely scratch my armor." The bot gloated, "That fool lying on the ground was your only hope! He never made such mistakes during the Prime War." **SH****OOOM! **A beam of green energy hit the robot from behind, exploding a hole in it's back armor, "_**AHHHH!**_ No! This is not possible! Nothing on this planet can harm me!"

_**"Think again!"**_ The Shell exclaimed as he crashed into the robot from above and drove it into the ground.

"The Silver Shell?" DV-1 exclaimed while it struggled with it's opponent in the hole, "Our data indicated you to be far weaker than XJ9!"

"Your calculations can't factor in my intelligence!" Shell responded as well with a solid right hook that cracked the bots chest plate. The bot stumbled back a few steps and leaned against a tree, "I reverse engineered your tech, and now I'm going to destroy you with it!"

"Our technology you say?" DV-1 questioned as it reaffirmed it's footing, "I'll venture a guess that your power core is a modified version of DV-2's?" The bots voice was thick with mischief.

"What's it to you?" Shell asked.

_**"Everything!"**_ The bot yelled, then shot out a cable with a sharp tip from it's chest. The cable punctured Shell's chest plate. Shell grabbed the cable and tried to pull it free but, it was to late. His systems started being drained. Alarms sounded inside the suit, Sheldon desperately flipped switches and turned knobs, trying in vain to reroute the remaining energy into breaking free. The deceive siphoned off his power faster than he could relocate the dwindling resource, and he fell to his knees still, clutching the cable, "You ignorant _**fool**_! You brought me a free recharge! _**Hahaha!**_" Jennifer observed the scene, trying to calculate a viable strategy but, she was down to 50% power herself. She ran towards the cable, transforming her hands into chainsaws along the way. With a mighty swing, she struck the thick cord, only to watch in shock, as the teeth ground to a halt in a hail of sparks. Her H.U.D. flashed a warning her that her energy levels were down to 48.78% and dropping. She quickly detached the wedged weapons.

_ **"Damn it girl think!" **_Jenny scolded herself.

"Patience XJ-9! I will be with you momentarily!" DV-2 gloated.

_**"FU-"**_ Jenny didn't finish her retort. Instead, she smiled, "Detonate." As soon as the last syllable left her metal lips, the chainsaws exploded, severing the cable, _**"Yes!"**_ The rush of the small victory left as quickly as it came. Jenny watch as the severed ends reconnected, "Damn it! It can reconstruct itself too!" She was out of options. She ran to Axle, "Axle! You have to get up! Your the only one who can beat this thing!" He just turned his optics to hers as he lay in his own oil.

"I can't move...My spine is to damaged. My recovery systems can fix it but..The nanites need time to work..." He spoke weakly.

"We don't have time! I can't beat him alone!" Jenny begged.

"You can do it...I'll be with you the whole time." Axle's chest opened up, a metal arm grasping a container extended out and dropped the container on the ground. Jenny starred at the astounding object that lay before her. A clear cylinder with a metallic top and bottom but inside, inside was a bright shining orb contained by an energy field. Jenny had to equip her shades to directly scan the object.

"A self sustaining fusion reactor suspended in an anti gravity container..." She read off the information scrolling across her H.U.D., "Axle...This-this is a freaking _**star!**_" Jenny exclaimed.

"It's-it's my power core...I wont last long without it but, you should have plenty of time to beat him..." Axle's digital voice sounded even weaker, "But, be careful...I don't know what will happen if you exceed 10%." Jenny reached down and gingerly grabbed the power core.

"Axle...I don't know if I-" Jenny began to express her concerns but, Axle cut her off.

"You got this Jen..." He smiled as best he could. Jenny looked at Shell, his systems were to 28% and dropping steadily. She steadied her nerve and opened her chest, revealing her auxiliary power input. Carefully, she shifted her parts around a bit little to accept the new one. She placed it inside and closed her chest.

_** "New power system detected. Disconnecting current power system.. … Complete. Installing drivers... … …. .Complete. Connecting... …. Complete. Loading... … … …. Power system activated. Warning: Power levels may exceed current model limitations. Caution is advised."**_

The words appeared across Jenny's H.U.D. Her temperature sensors read a .3 degree rise in her internal systems. She sighed to herself, "Let's get down to business. 10% wasn't enough so, let's try 15%." Her O.S. carried out her command and turned down the power dampers to allow 15% power to flow through her systems. Instantly, her internal temperature rose from 98.3 to 120.8. She trembled a little with the sudden rush of power, "_**A-amazing!**_ I feel so, so alive!"

_** "Warning! Power dampers at maximum capacity. New power system exceeds current design specifications. Damper failure eminent."**_

"Oh man. I better get started." Time seemed to slow a bit to her as she moved. Before the robot or Shell could react, Jenny grabbed the cable and ripped it in half, straining a little in the process. She firmly grasped the end attached to the robots chest and spun, slinging the robot through the forest. Splintering trees as it traveled through the thicket for an 8th of a mile.

"Jenny...He drained nearly all of my power...I can't help you." Shell said.

"Don't worry about it. I got this." Jenny's voice was stern and confident. Before Shell could comment further, she was gone. She reappeared on top of the robots chest, who had finally came to a stop. The robot deployed it's turret again and unloaded on her at point blank range. Jenny threw her arms up in defense and an energy shield formed around her automatically. The rounds bounced off in all directions.

_**"Whats this?"**_ The bot questioned as it's firing stopped. Jenny smiled.

"This is the end for you." She replied calmly. She spun completely around, landing a mighty round house kick to the weapon as she spun. The attack ripped it from DV-1's shoulder and sent it careening out of site through the woods. The robot took advantage of her distraction and caught her with a right that sent her hurdling into tree.

"I see now..." DV-1 began in an fearfully hateful tone, "You've taken DV-2's power core...Silly girl, you know not the powers you are playing with! You can't control it!"

Jenny stood. _**"Dampers failing. Power increasing to 23%"**_ Jenny let out a soft moan as the extra power flowed through her. She began to tremble slightly. Internal temperature rose to 167.6 degrees. Her outer hull began to turn a reddish hue from to the heat. The oil in her cracked hands sizzled and smoked. She smiled, she loved the feeling of this new power, _"The feeling!" _She processed, _"I can actually feel it!" _Lost in her own thoughts, she wasn't even paying attention as the bot fired it's Butterfly Cannon again. The blast struck her like a truck. The surrounding vegetation burst into flames fin a 500 meter radius. The DV-1 smiled to it's self, satisfied that it had eliminated it's opponent. It's self illusion was quickly cut short, Jenny was standing in the same spot when the smoke cleared, "Whoa..." She said to herself. Amazed at the entire situation.

"Oh bother..." The bot said sheepishly. Jenny re-targeted it after shaking off her own self indulgence and clenched her sizzling fists. She charged at it, far to fast for it to see. She landed a punch to it's stomach that went straight through it, _**"AAAAHHHGGGRRR!"**_ It screamed.

"You like inflicting pain, but don't like receiving huh?" She ripped her hand free from it's torso and grabbed it's left arm. She slid between its legs with it's arm, flipping it onto it's back, _**"Dampers failing. Power increasing to 45%."**_ The sudden rush of energy caused her anger to peak, she grabbed the arm again and ripped it clean off. Holding it in her hand, she watched as it turned white and began to melt from the heat she was producing. Her own temperature had reached 242.9 degrees. Warnings of all kinds flashed across her H.U.D. She herself was now glowing orange. The oil burning in her hands turned into small fires that engulfed her fists.

"_**Jenny!**_ You must co-control yourself!" Axle yelled in vain, "End it now and eject the power core!" She was to overwhelmed by power to hear his plea.

_**"Now! You die!"**_ Jenny screamed as she vaporized the appendage she held into a shower of liquid metal droplets. DV-1 sprang to his feet in an attempt to escape. Jenny allowed it to run a short distance before melting both of it's legs, with blast from her hands, so it couldn't run. Chuckling madly through clenched teeth, she smiled evilly as approached the helpless robot. The bot stood little chance when her systems suddenly received 55% power. The heat emitting from her body had set half the forest ablaze, _**"I'M GOING TO TEAR YOU APART AND WATCH YOU BURN!" **_The DV-1 screamed in as it's form rose into the air at the motion of Jenny's right hand, white hot metal dripped from it's chassis and fell to the ground as it began to melt. Jenny charged her hovering target, punching the robots chest violently. Hot metal chunks of debris flew in all directions, until an unrecognizable hunk of twisted, shattered, and half molten steel was all that remained. She laughed maniacally as if proud of the mangled mess before her. In the heat of her indulgence, she grabbed it and ripped it in half. The pieces floated around her like planets around a sun. Her systems reached 75% and 678 degrees, unrepairable damage to her body was happening at an astounding rate. Her pigtails fell to the ground as bubbling puddles of molten metal. Her tempered glass optic lenses evaporated, her outer armor began to run off like liquid exposing all internals. Anything not metal had been consumed by the heat and the metal its self was on fire. Her appearance could be described as "mechanical zombie".

_**"Jenny! Eject it now!"**_ Axle pleaded as his auxiliary power began to fade. Shell deployed solar cells to help recharge but, he could only watch his artificial love melt away. Jenny, seemingly with her mind alone, brought the pieces together above her head in a tight ball. She placed her right hand just bellow the bottom of the condensed mass of melted robot and a bright yellow ball of energy formed in her hand. She smiled again, and released the energy as a powerful beam, 30 feet across, instantly evaporating what was left of the robot. Axle's vision began to flicker and fade. His systems had begun to shutdown. Jenny screamed as the power core slid out of her chest through the hot steel. She collapsed to the ground on her side, her body melted like butter and pooled around her. Shell mustered all the power he could and ran to her side. He picked up the power core and starred back at Axle.

"What have you done..." He sadly spoke with a tear filled voice. He tossed the core to the side and looked down at the unrecognizable Jennifer Wakeman, little remained, from her right shoulder to her elbow, a quarter of her chest, and the right side of her head was all the that extended from the metal slab. Axle tried to pull himself to his power core a few yards away. His vision quickly fading to static, he reached out for his core. He glanced out past his outstretched fingers to see Shell rip the metal slab from the Earth. Through the haze, he watched Shell turn to him with Jenny in his arms. His systems finally shutdown as he watched the giant take flight.

**The Wakeman residence**

Nora was exhausted. Not since her Skyway Patrol days has she had such an exhausting battle. Bradly Carbunkle had become a raging maniac since his arrival. It took two tranquilizers and all of her Skyway combat training to keep him from the weapons in her lab. She brushed away the sweat from her brow while glancing down at the unconscious teen. Suddenly, the sound of her alarm system activating emanated from her lab. She ran to her monitor station, to assess the situation. The words, **"G.R.R.U.-XJ-9 Offline" **flashed boldly across the screen, "Thats-Thats not possible..." She ran a systems check, **"Offline"** She tried to open a communications channel to no avail. As if this sudden shock wasn't enough, the intruder alarm sounded as well. She looked over her perimeter layout to find the location of the interloper, "The garage!" Quickly, she grabbed her particle accelerator gun as she ran towards the garage. She pressed her back against the kitchen wall, steadying her nerve before rounding the corner to face the garage door. Upon doing so, she saw steam seeping out from underneath the door. Someone had activated the re-entry cool down system. Cautiously, Nora reached out and turned the knob, allowing the door to ease halfway open before kicking it open fully, _**"Eat hot protons you vile-!"**_ She paused mid threat. The gun fell to the floor at her feet. The Silver Shell stood before her, clutching a slab of metal. Though little actually protruded, Nora easily recognized her daughters form. She didn't even acknowledge The Shell's presence, "J...Jennifer?" She questioned through emerging tears.

"Please...you have to help her." Said Shell in a sad voice.

**Cluster Prim: Two weeks prior to Axle's arrival**

"_**Sargent's log:**_ Its been twenty data cycles...Or was it twenty five? Doesn't matter, nothing matters anymore now that Hive set their plan in motion. The tower they were building that Tuff reported on before he went M.I.A...They used it to broadcast an E.M.P. across the entire planet. Only those lucky enough to have shielding from the factory or from their golden chip survived. An estimated 48% of the planets population just...Deactivated. They were the lucky ones. Two cycles later, the _**devil**_ appeared. Oddly organic in design, the beast had unparalleled power. It's body coal Grey...It came and killed all survivors that refused to join the Hive. We tried to fight but, we couldn't even get close because of the heat it produced. It destroyed everything in it's path. It was indestructible, even without it's protective heat shield. Once our forces were defeated, _**she**_ appeared. She called herself Vexes yet she looked nothing like the former Queen. She looked strikingly similar to the XJ-9 unit that visited us. Her pigtails ran down just above her rear, ending in sharp points. Her body was covered in the trade mark Cluster colors and patterns. She always wore a smile of razor sharp teeth. She cackled madly as she commanded the Grey beast to do her bidding. Our last stand took place in the royal palace. I could only watch helplessly as Vexes ripped her way into the throne room. She had decided to confront her daughter herself. Vega refused to join them and tried to fight back but, it was no use. Vexes shredded her own paneling and oil...Since then, I've managed to stay hidden this entire time and have yet to cross paths with another active bot...The Hive left the planet cycles ago. I...I believe I'm the only one left...I leave this memory chip for any who may wonder what happened here. End log." Drab starred out across the dead planet through a large hole ripped in the wall of the throne room. He casually turned from the desecrated city and rolled to where his former best friend and Queen would normally sit and took a seat. He ejected an SD card from his neck and placed it on the arm rest. A small drop of oil fell free before he closed his eyes and formed his left hand into a gun, "I'll see you shortly my Queen." He quietly uttered the words as he put the barrel to his head and pulled the trigger.


	5. Innocence Lost

**CHAPTER V**

**Innocence Lost**

_** "Lost are we all if we allow our anger to illuminate our way. For the flame flickers brightly and briefly, long enough to leave us trapped in our own darkness."**_

_** R.D.M.**_

**Noreen Wakeman's lab**

A soft swoosh, faint, only audible due to the dead calm suffocating the room. Dr. Noreen Wakeman slowly ran her hand across a round bulb of metal protruding from a slab of metal laying atop her work bench. Her trained eye captured every detail as she surveyed the damage to her greatest creation, her masterpiece, her..., "Oh, Jennifer..." A small tear fell upon the warm steel, wisping faint vapor as it slowly disappeared. Sheldon deactivated the Silver Shell. The chest split apart and slid open. Immediately, he shot out, rushing over and grabbing Nora by the shoulders. He tried to regain her focus, "Nora! You have to pull it together! If we act fast there's a chance-!"

"No..." She interrupted his plea.

"No? _**No?**_ What do you mean _**NO?**_" Sheldon retorted. Nora's mind was still reeling from the sudden influx of emotional trauma, "No, we...we have all the time in the world." She wiped away another tear before finishing, "The damage has been done. We must remain calm and examine the situation carefully." Sheldon calmed down a bit. He knew she was right about that much at least. It would be easy to make a mistake if they rushed into the repairs.

"OK...OK, what do we do now?" Sheldon asked worriedly.

"I need a moment to gather myself before we begin..." She pulled a hefty set of keys from her pocket and examined them one by one until she found the one she was looking for. A rather odd looking key, old in it's design. Sheldon watched the old woman as she made her way to her computer station and used it to open a rusted, and dusty old box. She reached in and picked out a small, rectangular shaped box that read "Macbarrel" on the package. She carefully struck the object against her palm several times and then tore off the plastic wrapping, opened the box and pulled out a long slender item. She placed the odd thing in her mouth, then looked around, hastily searching for something.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Sheldon asked. It was then Nora spied her Bunsen burner. She lit it's flame and ignited the object before replying.

"You know...Back in my day..." She paused to draw in a deep breath. The tip of the odd thing glowing brightly as she did, "Well over 50% of the world's population partook in smoking." Gray wisps flowed from her mouth as she spoke.

"_**Cough! Cough! **_Yeah, I know! That's why the World Government outlawed smoking years ago..."He responded rather annoyed, "Before I was even born."

"Sheldon, do you think of me as a intelligent person?" She looked at him with a stare that could be mistaken for aggravation.

"Well, yeah. Your work in the field of robotics laid the frame work for technology as we know present day." He looked back at her, a little puzzled by her question. Nora placed her hands behind her back and glared at the Silver Shell suit, sitting just behind Sheldon. After a few moments of observing the battle suit, she turned her focus back to Sheldon. Nora approached him, purposely positioning herself well within his comfort zone. She stared straight up his chest, into his eyes with a look of malice. The cigarette nearly touching his chin, "Then what the _**fuck**_ makes you think I wouldn't know you hacked into my private computer network?" Sheldon backed away from the noxious fumes and verbal assault spewing from the small woman.

"You-you don't understand!" He pleaded.

"Further more, you seem to think I wouldn't recognize the designs used to upgrade the Silver Shell!" She interrupted, pulling the cigarette from her mouth and pointing it at his creation.

"I had no choice! I had to be able protect her from Axle!" He became more desperate for her understanding the more he talked, "My intentions were pure! I just...Didn't want anything to happen to Jenny...I..I love her."

"Ah...Good intentions indeed." Nora retorted, "The affections of my daughter." Another long drag, "You know, I always hoped secretly that she would choose to be with you. You had a good head on your shoulders but, you've made a terrible mistake, hiding behind your creation to deceive her. You should be ashamed." her words were cold, harsh, and rife with disappointment.

"Nora, I-I didn't mean for it to come across like that! I was..It's just-!" Sheldon fumbled over his words.

"While we're on the subject of my daughter, back in my Skyway hey days, one of my greatest skills was being able to look into situations beyond what others see..." She puffed out a small cloud, "Judging by the damage on your suit, I presume you had some level of involvement with her current condition." Nora backed the teen against his on creation, bellowing smoke in his face as she spoke, "I know you wont lie to me Sheldon. So, tell me. What do you know about this?" Sheldon swallowed hard under her gaze then lowered his head to the floor.

"I-I-there was a fight between Axle and I...Jenny got distracted by us and didn't and notice the meteor until it reached the atmosphere . I turned out to be another robot! It landed at Brad's house and killed his family...We couldn't stop it! It called itself DV-1! Axle sacrificed himself to save her...She took his power core out of desperation...She defeated him but..." Sheldon's voice hung low on the air, weighted down by sad words as he gave the slab a quick glance.

"I will see what information I can retrieve from Jennifer's memory banks. Now..." Another long overdue drag, "You _**will**_ hand over all the information you've stolen pertaining to Axle and my daughter or..." Another deep inhale, "...you will find out what I did in Skyway before a fancied robotics." The heavy stomp of a now active X-J8 insured the teens cooperation. He quickly turned around, reached into the suit and pulled out the hard drive.

"He-here. That's everything I have..." Sheldon handed over the hard drive with an I'm sorry expression.

"I will give you the benefit of the doubt but, I suggest you leave before Bradly wakes." Sheldon hastily retreated back into his Shell, "Do not return, until you realize the error of your actions." With that, he exited the lab. After a moment of starring at nothing in particular, Nora glanced at XJ-8, "How did you reactivate?"

"My sensors indicated excessive stress levels emanating from you. Data showed the most likely cause to be the person you were exchanging dialogue with. I also detected that XJ-9 had been deactivated, leaving the Earth defenseless." The 8ft tall deep purple droid explained in a heavily digitized monotone.

"Impossible. I removed the auto-activation function from all of you when you were decommissioned." Nora stated, half asking.

"I knew and understood your reasons for shutting us down, but I felt that there may be need for abilities one day. So, I created a priority routine to reactivate if my sensors detected any disturbances in reference to what is important to me." XJ-8 explained.

"Astounding...You are equipped with a prototype version of Jennifer's C.P.U. and OS...So, it makes sense that you could learn to do such things but..." Nora took in another breath, "What is of great importance to you?" Nora asked.

"My family." Nora flicked the ashes from her cigarette reflexively, taken back by the answer from XJ-8, "Mom...Will Jenny be OK?"

"I-I..." Nora watched as the bits of burned tobacco and paper drifted downward and landed on the floor, "I don't know..."

**The sky's above Tremerton**

The Silver Shell streaked across the sky at top speed, Sheldon, still lamenting from his argument with Nora, inside. He had little time. Sheldon activated his radar as soon as he left, Skyway had surely detected the fight and would be in route to the scene, collecting everything for examination, "Damn..." The radar confirmed his fears, they had already arrived. Shell touched down, unnoticed, a few yards away from an officer. He watched them loading Axle's body into an aircraft. Feeling that he could negotiate with them, he approached the man, trying his best to not sound suspicious, "Greetings honorable sir!" Shell cheerfully spoke, "I would like a word with your superior officer." The cadet looked at the giant before him with an annoyed face.

"You need to step back sir. This is a restricted area." Shell glanced back at the craft as it's engines fired up. His only hope to retrieve Axle was about to fly away. He stepped around the young man, in an attempt to catch the craft before it took off, "_**Hey!**_ I'm ordering you to stand down or I will fire!" Shell looked back at the man with that cold, unchanging expression.

"I'm sorry...I understand you have a job to do but, this is something I have to do..." With that Shell sprinted towards the ship. The cadet fired off a few rounds which alerted everyone else and all officers opened fire. The bullets bounced off in all directions with metallic pings. He ran to the right wing of the aircraft and punched the engine, exploding it on impact and crippling the aircraft.

"Captain! We're under attack by an unknown!" Lieutenant Morris called out to his superior. Commander McKinley stood from his post in the cockpit.

"Get the heavy artillery! We'll defend the cargo until death!" McKinley ordered.

"We don't have the proper forms to ask for clearance to fire the heavy guns sir!" Morris replied.

"Screw clearance! Get that damn RPG!" McKinley demanded. Morris obliged, although begrudgingly. Shell had beaten a hole in the cargo bay door. His massive hands forced their way in, grabbed the edges, and spread the hole wide enough to fit his massive bulk. As soon as Shell forced half his body inside, he was greeted with a face full of military grade explosives. The force of the explosion threw him backwards out of the craft several yards, landing on his back. He immediately recovered and sat upright.

"I guess it's time to test my prototype..." Sheldon activated his own modified power core. A sickly green hue enveloped the Shell. Bullets melted into green slag before they even touched him.

"Sir! We have a major problem! According to scans, this guys a walking nuclear reactor! Radiations at a lethal level!" Morris exclaimed.

"My god..." McKinley uttered, watching the robot stand again. He suddenly felt a bead of sweat run down his cheek. He rubbed his moist brow and looked at Lieutenant Morris, he was sweating as well.

"Sir...He-he's coming this way..." Morris's warning reset his focus to the lumbering behemoth, "It's the S-silver Shell!" Morris exclaimed, "We don't have any vigilante engagement forms!" Morris shouted. Looking to McKinley, he noticed him sweating heavily and his skin had turned a sickly yellow.

"There's no need for that crap now..." McKinley gasped. He began to feel weak in his knees but, he stood firm from shear will. The weight of the RPG caused Morris to fall over. The closer Shell came, the faster the radiation broke down their body's. McKinley knew in the back of his mind that this would not end well. He took the rocket launcher from Morris who had quickly started losing strength from the radiation's effects. Carefully, he loaded another round, mustard all of his strength, and shouldered the weapon. The Shell stepped back inside the cargo bay, McKinley waited until Shell was fully inside before firing, "Hey, fuck face!" Shell stopped at Axle's body, he only had time to glance at McKinley before the rocket struck the aura around him. The shield protected Shell but, reflected most of the explosion back towards the officers. Morris and McKinley both, were catapulted from the cargo bay, through the cockpit door and out of the front windshield of the transport. Shell stood unharmed as the smoke cleared. Taking a moment to contemplate what had happened. Two high ranked, highly respected Skyway officers dead, a transport craft destroyed and at least twenty eye witnesses outside to identify him.

"I-I didn't..." The true implication of his action began to sink in, "There's no going back now." Shell continued speaking as he scanned what was left of the ship, "I made a mistake by acting to rashly but, I will amend it..." He could hear the men outside taking up position around the wreckage as he found what he was looking for, "There you are." Axle's power core. Locked inside a containment box. He simply punched through the container and pulled out the core. With the core in hand, he approached Axle's body, it had fallen off the table and onto the floor in the explosion. He rolled him over, his chest was still open from earlier. Carefully, he placed the core back in.

** SYSTEMS STARTING... ...COMPLETE. POWERING ON.**

The words flashed across Axle's field of vision. His eyes began to focus on his surroundings. Slowly, he leaned up into a sitting position, metallic grinding sounds resonated from his body as he moved. His repair nanites had deactivated when he removed his core. He looked around at the damage and fire, slowly his optics fell on the Silver Shell, "Shell...Where the hell am I? Where's Jenny?" Axle asked.

"You are in a Skyway transport. You were on your way to being disassembled in one of their top secret labs." He took a short pause before continuing, "Jenny is deactivated."

"No...No that can't be.." Axle couldn't believe what he heard. His last memory file played in his C.P.U. Fire, screams, and darkness, "Oh no...It's my fault..." He lightly uttered.

"You destroyed my love...Ruined my friendship...My life...I hate you." Shell spat through invisible teeth.

"Then why did you you save me?" Axle questioned.

"Because..." Shell lowered his voice, "Skyway is known for their incompetence and would most likely do more harm than good with the tech...I know your from Cluster Prime. The only way to fix everything, is to deactivate you!" Axle's eyes grew wide as his systems finally completely booted up. His sensors flashed a warning across his H.U.D. Shell was emitting extreme levels of radiation, lethal levels. Axle had just enough time to activate a weak energy shield before a massive foot sent him flying through the transport, shattering the shield like glass. The force carried him through the woods for miles. Trees exploded with every hit. Axle skidded and bounced to a stop just outside of Jonesville, an unbelievable 10 miles from where he was hit.

"Son of a bitch..." Axle muttered, "When I get my hands on him..." He tried to stand but fell to his knees. The nanites were using what little oil he had left to repair his body. **Warning: Incoming projectile. **He looked up just in time to see three missiles barring down on him. Another energy shield barley saved him. The Shell landed with a crushing force just in-front of him.

"I use to be a good person...I lived day by day for science and...Jenny..." Shell's voice hung low, "I wasn't perfect, I just wanted her to notice me...And you...You killed her..._**YOU KILLED HER!**_**"** The Shell growled again as he flexed his huge muscles, "She made me feel...Wanted...She was the reason I pulled myself out of bed in the mornings!" It was clear Sheldon's emotions had reached their limit, "If I'm going to be this story's tragedy then at least allow me to fight and die with what little honor I have left! " He screamed as he charged Axle. With little time or choice, Axle deactivated his repair systems and turned his core up to 25%, "I don't want to live in a world without her! So, by all means, _**kill**_ me if you can!" The sound of thunder could be heard for miles as the two bots slammed into each other, clasping their hands tightly as each tried to over power the other. Sparks and lightning flashed where the two different radiation auras connected. Axle, letting loose his grip, ducked down and slammed his shoulder into the Shells torso. He activated his rockets and quickly carried him a mile into the air and just as quickly slammed back down to the Earth in a massive explosion of fire.

Axle pinned down Shell in the crater, "Sheldon! This is not the way to set things right! Think about what your doing!" He pleaded.

"I have thought about it! You've taken everything from me! Either I'm going to kill you for that or your going to have to kill me!"

"Your angry! I get it! You need to calm down!" Axle pleaded once more, but Sheldon's emotions had consumed him. Shell fired a burst of nuclear energy from his chest, sending Axle high into the air. He caught himself in time to feel a sharp pain in his stomach along with the sound of scraping metal. He soon realized Shell had produced a sword from his forearm and impaled him.

"Tell me...does a robots life cycle flash before its eyes as it deactivates?" Shell asked with mock concern. Axle hardly heard him over the warnings going off in his C.P.U.

** ABDOMENAL HULL BREACH DETECTED. REPAIR SYSTEMS OFFLINE. DAMAGE REPORT... ... OIL PRESSURE AT MINIMUM. MECHANICAL SYSTEM FAILING. EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN IN FIVE MINUTES... ... OVERRIDEN... ... ACTIVATING CRISIS MODE...ERROR. ACTIVATING REMOTE CONTROL.**

_** "ANSWER ME!"**_ Shell demanded. No response. Axle starred blankly into the distance, "Then die in silence." Shells eyes began to glow purple as he charged his lasers. A fully charged shot to the head at point blank range would do massive damage. As he fired, Axle tilted his head back to avoid the blast. Shell watched in shock as he tilted his head back to face him. Slowly, an evil grin appeared across his face. Shell was too distracted by this to react. Axle turned the power core up to 50%. An intense wave of heat blasted the shine right off of the Shell. Clouds dispersed in all direction. He then grabbed the arm he was impaled by, jerked it out and ripped it off. He quickly spun in a complete circle, using the gathered momentum to ram the sword through Shells breast plate. Sheldon gasped as the sword barely missed his head. He quickly focused his optics on Axle's face again. He still had that odd, evil smile.

"Sssshhhellll-dddduuunnn." Axle called out, in an oddly digitized female voice. A strangely familiar voice.

"That-that voice-!" Sheldon exclaimed.

"You've been _**very**_ bad Shel-dun, placing your _**fleshy**_ nose where it doesn't belong..." Axle brought his hand up to The Shells face, "I can't have you transmitting data back to anyone..." He fired a white hot blast from his hand and blew a three inch hole through the Shell's head. The Shell fell from the sky with a heavy thud. The moment he impacted, Axle landed, in a crouched position on his abdomen, "Come out, come out wherever you aarrrreee..." Axle purred, still with a female tone. He smiled as he began pulling and ripping away Shell's armor until he reached the prize inside. Axle was a little shocked by what he saw inside. Sheldon Oswald Lee, was using an oxygen mask, breathing heavily, sweating profusely, his skin a sickly yellow. He slowly reached up and unsnapped the mask,

"You win...Vexes...claim your prize..." Sheldon gasped out, "I knew the Hive was behind this somehow...I just didn't know to what extent..." Axle slowly scanned the pitiful thing shivering in-front of him.

"Very intelligent fleshling. DV-2 is merely a pawn in my final plan for revenge against the Earth and XJ-9." Axle hissed.

"Jenny's dead...You won... The Earth is defenseless." Sheldon wheezed.

**"**_**HAHAHAHA! **_You _**fool!**_ Not only have you destroyed yourself with your own creation, you've underestimated Dr. Wakeman! A mistake I will never make again..." He spoke as he scanned the Silver Shell suit.

"What.._**wheeze**_...do you mean..." Sheldon questioned as best he could.

"You didn't have XJ-9's plans for very long did you? Mrs. Wakeman installed a secret hard drive in XJ-9's C.P.U. It backs up every byte of data accumulated, calculated and recorded. It's encased in titanium and ceramic, it survived." DV-2 grabbed the rim of the hole he had ripped in the Shells chest as he spoke. Faint sounds of twisting metal landed on Sheldon's ears as he spoke, "Dr. Wakeman is a worthy mental opponent..." Sheldon could only watch as DV-2 slowly began crushing the holes edges together, sealing the gap, "She will rebuild Jennifer, stronger...But not as strong as I..." Sheldon's vision became dimmer, as the hole shrunk, "With DV-2, I have already fooled Dr. Wakeman into trusting me and seeing you as a threat! Soon, I will force her to watch as I finally defeat Jennifer in one on one combat!" DV-2 smiled as the hole grew a little smaller, "In between now and then, I will ruin every aspect of her life! I've already destroyed her relationship with the human Brad. Next, it will be her family!"

"They'll stop you..." Sheldon whispered.

"No...They won't...DV-2 alone is powerful enough to deal with whatever defense the humans can muster. Once the population has been thinned, my army will move in. And then...Then XJ-9 will fall at my hands! A glorious final battle! And your going to help me." Sheldon's vision went dark as the final glints of light faded away, "You doomed your body by rushing the upgrades to your suit. Improper shielding from your own power source, but your mind is just finnnne..." DV-2 purred as he lifted The Silver Shell above his head. Sheldon could only guess his fate as he felt the steady progression of G-forces pulling him to the back of the suit, "Welcome to the Hive Shel-dun." DV-2 flew with Shell high into the atmosphere, leaned back, and threw Shell into space. After a moment of smiling, DV-2's face slowly turned blank. His body began a limp free fall.

** "REMOTE CONTROL TERMINATED. RESUMING NORMAL OPERATING FUNCTION... ...COMPLETE. POWERING ON.**

Axle's vision snapped back. He was loosing altitude fast. He immediately activated his flight system, just in time to streak a few feet alone the ground and back up into the sky. He skimmed through his damage report as he plotted a course to Jenny's house, "What happened? Where's Sheldon?" He asked the sky as he tried to playback his memory files. **ACESS DENIED. **Was his only reward, "Damn it...I don't have time for this! I have to get to Nora before I breakdown..." Axle continued, "I'll figure this out later." He continued his flight in silence.

**The Wakeman residence**

Bradly Carbunkle moaned as he slowly leaned up into a sitting position on Nora's living room couch. He ran one hand through his hair, the other rubbed his blurry eyes as he stretched to wake his body. His eyes focused on a steaming cup of coffee with a note folded underneath. He grabbed the cup and lightly sipped as he read the note.

_** "Come downstairs into the lab. We have much to discuss."**_

He tossed the note back on the coffee table with a flick of his wrist as he stood and headed towards the lab. Sounds of heavy machine work grew louder as he enter. XJ-8 stood to acknowledge his presence. Nora noticed her action and stopped her work. Bradly saw the mass of melted metal as he stepped off the staircase. He walked beside the bench holding Jennifer's remains and set the coffee down. Somehow, he knew what he was looking at. The three remained silent as each starred at the heroin's unjust monument, "How..." Brad began with a slight quivering lip, "How did this happened?" Nora set down the crowbar she had been using to pry Jenny's C.P.U. housing open. They all looked at the gruesome sight of oil and bent metal as Nora began to talk.

"Jennifer borrowed Axle's power core to defeat the monstrosity that..." Nora trailed off a bit as proper words eluded her, "She let her emotions overwhelm her and thus, was unable to control the power." She looked at Bradly as she noticed he seemed to recall the events just before his nap, "I want you to know Bradly, I phoned an old friend in Skyway. They've already cleaned up the area and are arranging a memorial service next week." Bradly shook his head to let her know he understood, "I'm-I'm sorry for your loss. I knew your father back in Skyway, he was a good man. His actions in the first Intergalactic War saved hundreds of lives."

"Yeah..._**sniff**_...I know." Brad sobbed a little as he spoke, "It was my favorite story. Poor Tuck..."

"Your father always said ( A mans worth is measured in actions, not inches. ) He always told the new recruits that." Nora said. Brad smiled a little. It quickly went away as he looked again at what use to be Jenny's head. Nora had cut and pried on the large bulb until she had an adequate sized hole. Chard black abd oil covered wire's hung over the edge to one side.

"What are you doing to her?" He asked.

"I placed a back up system for all of Jennifer's data in the center of her C.P.U. All information automatically downloads into this hidden hard drive if damage levels reach a certain degree." Nora explained as she reached inside Jenny s head, grabbed a small, shinny sphere and ripped it out.

"So, she's OK? I mean like, she will be?" Brad asked with a small ray of hope showing in his red eyes. Nora remained quiet for a moment as she examined the object.

"If your asking, can I rebuild her...The answer is yes. The problem is all of the connection points to the hard drive have been destroyed. It will take some time to figure this out. In the mean time, XJ-8 will be recommissioned. The Earth needs some level of defense in her absence." Nora informed.

"So, XJ-8 gets recommissioned until Jen gets back?" Brad asked, "What happens when you get her fixed?"

"I haven't decided on a time line for her recommissioning but, she will remain active until I can solve this problem." Nora said lightly as she looked up at XJ-8, "Bradly...I know the coming times will be rather difficult. I was aware of how close you and Jennifer had become. You can stay here as long as you like." Nora offered with a smile.

"Thanks Mrs. W, but I got something else in mind." Brad wiped his eyes as he stood up straight, "Here recently we kinda grew distant...we couldn't be as close as we wanted to be..." He trailed off.

"I know. Society hasn't helped either. Your relationship was very taboo." Nora said.

"Yeah...I guess..." Brad placed a hand on the slab as he continued to speak, "Goodbye Jen." He removed his hand and looked directly at Nora.,"Thanks for everything, but I got to do something. You guys take care."

"Where are you going?" Nora asked.

"To get a measurement..." Was his only reply as he exited the lab, leaving Nora to her work. Nearby, Axle flew in low under any kind of radar. He landed in Nora's backyard and enter through the back door. Trying to manage the stairs leading into Nora's lab, he lost his balance and tumbled down them, crashed through the door and sprawled out onto the floor with a loud clang. XJ-8 immediately armed herself.

"Stand down XJ-8, my word Axle! Sheldon made it sound as though you hadn't survived!" Nora exclaimed.

"I'm still ticking...Barely..." Axle replied in a weak metallic voice, "Oil...I need oil."

"Right away!" Nora sprang towards her personal stock, but Axle stopped her.

"No...I need to be submerged in it." Nora pointed to a few large drums of oil. XJ-8 grabbed one, ripped the lid off and began filling the tank used to create the new XJ-10. Axle scanned the scene while the tank was filling, "Jenny..." He said as his eyes fell on Nora.

"I'm afraid she is not with us anymore." Nora sadly replied.

"No...She's here...I can feel it..." Axle replied. Nora looked at the hard drive she had been holding.

"This...This is all that remains. She is in here, but I have no means of access to her. All connection points have been to damaged. I don't know-"

_** "Give it to me!"**_ Axle demanded and cut off Nora, "Please...I can save her...My C.P.U. can access and house the data...I can get her out." Nora was a little taken back. She looked at Axle, then the drive several times, "Please...you have to trust me..." After a tense moment of holding the hard drive protectively, Nora surrendered.

"OK..." She walked over and placed the drive in Axle's hand and stood back. Hope and worry in her eyes. Axle brought the orb to his chest. With a loud shriek, his chest slid open, exposing vital parts. He forced the object in amongst the parts and closed his chest.

"Now...You have to put me in the oil." He informed.

"Are you sure about this?" Nora looked confused and worried.

"My nanites...They will...Bond her hard drive to my systems...She will share my body and mind...When XJ-10 is complete...I can upload her program into it..." Nora looked at Axle still unsure, "You can trust me...Nora..."

"Alright, XJ-8, place him in the tank." XJ-8 scooped Axle off the floor, hovered over above the tank, and slowly lowered him in feet first.

"I'll need to power down. Take me out tomorrow...It should be done then." With that he disappeared below the black sludge. Nora was still unsure of the whole situation. She remembered the hard drive she retrieved from Sheldon. She took it and plugged it into her computer. The computer quickly displayed video files taken by Sheldon while spying on Jenny. She soon came across the encrypted signals he intercepted from space to Axle, "Well..these will take awhile to crack.." Nora said as she began typing furiously. XJ-8 sat down on the floor beside her to watch.

**The Carbunckle residence**

Brad could see all the Skyway officers at work as he approached the scene. The car and the bodies had already been taken away. Dump trucks were parked in the yard as workers threw debris from the wrecked house into the back of the truck. Every slow step brought him closer home. Each foot step made his blood hotter as memories played through his mind of days now lost, "Hey!" A deep, commanding voice called to him. Brad ignored him at first, "Hey, son you can't be here-oh shit..." The man lost his words for a moment as he approached Brad from the side, "I'll be damn! Your Bradly Carbunkle right? This is your place?" Silence said it all as a single tear slid down Brads left cheek, "My name is Dale. Your father trained me...Listen, you need to come with me." Another moment of silence and finally a response.

"Under one condition, I get a shot at the Hive for what they've done." Brad said sternly. Dale saw the fire in his eyes and had to stop himself from smiling.

"Got a attitude on you! I read your file on the flight over here. You were a Skyway cadet for a short time, your obviously in great shape and your last name carries a lot of weight around here. I think we could use you." Dale said with a hint of satisfaction in his tone.

"Use me? For what?" Brad asked somewhat coldly.

"It's on a need to know basis and we can't talk about it out here. Come with me." Dale placed a comforting and directing hand on Brads back. Pointing him to a blacked out Humvee. Dale stopped at the vehicle and opened the door, "One more thing, what makes you so sure this is the right decision?"

Brad looked Dale right in the eyes and spoke, "A mans worth is measured in actions, not inches. I want to see what I'm worth." Dale couldn't hold back the smile this time as Brad climbed in first. Dale followed behind and shut the door.


	6. Foreshadowing

**CHAPTER VI**

**Foreshadowing**

_** "Fate...It's shadow, long and wide. Encompassing our world and shrouding our judgment. It isn't always a matter of emerging from the dark a better person, sometimes, all that matters is that you survived at all." **_

_** R.D.M.**_

**Somewhere**

_**"Ooohhhhhhh..."**_ A well deserved and well needed yawn, ringing true with the sound of satisfaction as one, Jennifer Diane Wakeman, stretched her stiff servos. Her joints clicked as they reach their maximum radius. She took a moment to glance around her room as her OS booted up. She couldn't place a metallic digit on it, but something was defiantly a miss. Her OS had loaded exceptionally fast. She processed the thought for a second as she, simultaneously, flung back the bed sheets, scanned the room for any discrepancy, and ran a quick systems check. To her surprise, nothing was out of place, her systems check was clean, and her processor was operating at peak efficiency, "Peak efficiency?" She processed out loud as her feet touched the floor, "I only reach peak efficiency at extremely low temp-" Her train of thought was subsequently derailed by her C.P.U. processing a strange new sensation. One that absolutely dumbfounded and fascinated her at the same time. She looked down at her feet. They appeared exactly the way she expected they would, yet something was defiantly different. The feeling was slightly ticklish, she processed, drawing on her experiences with a prototype nervous system to describe what she was experiencing as she starred at her feet on the carpet, "Soft...It feels soft and...Warm..." Normally, her various sensors would tell her a surfaces texture, composition, and temperature through a series algorithmic processes, ending with a numerical value displaying in her H.U.D. for each quality scanned, but to actually feel the sensation on the bottom of her feet was captivating. Feelings. Such a simple little thing, most take for granted, had rendered the heroine incapacitated. A smile stretched across her face unconsciously. She stood fully and hurried to her full length mirror, not really knowing what to expect. To her surprise she could feel the air between her pigtails as she somewhat jogged from her bed to the mirror. She scanned the reflected image, "Everything seems to be in order..." She proceed the reflection before her, "It just doesn't make sense." She, once again, processed out loud as she ran her right hand down her left arm, "I'm not equipped with the proper sensory nodes _**or**_ the programming to interpret sensations. Unless Mom finally finished those old ones and snuck in my room last night. Last...night?..." She suddenly realized she had no idea how she came to be in her room, _**"UUUUHHHH!"**_ She grabbed her head and slightly doubled over as a confusing byte of data flashed through her C.P.U., "That-that _**hurt**_!" Pain was a sensation she was familiar with as well, experiencing it before in her miss adventures with the prototype nervous system. The image confused her even further. Fire, screams, laughter, "Laughter?" She sound of her own voice cackling like, "Like Vexes..." This was becoming to much for her to process. She ran to the huge window at the far end of her room, sending a wireless signal to the curtains control module as she approached. The curtains slide apart and Jennifer gasped at what she saw. Nothing, absolutely nothing. No ground, no sky, no sun, just an endless void of white, all encompassing and never ending. She slowly backed away from the window, another jolt of data streaked through her C.P.U., causing her to fall on her knees. This time, it was an image of someone, someone familiar. The memory file appeared from a ground level prospective, approximately 29.3 meters away from the familiar form. The main image the file focused on, a roughly 6ft tall metal humanoid, white hot with heat from an unknown source, liquid metal running off the poor automaton as it screamed in what seemed like agony, fire, consuming all flammable material around as it collapsed under the extreme amount of structural damage. A small, clear tear of lubricant ran down from the corner of her eye as she saw the robots own body pool around it. She cradled herself, swearing she could feel the pain. The memory file started to become blurry as a hand reached out into view, followed by a small audio file in a slightly digitized male voice, _**"Jenny..." **_It called out as the file stopped playing. She wiped away the oily tear and sat for a moment, processing the data. Slowly, she began to stand when a familiar voice spoke in an omnipresent manner.

"Jenny..." This startled her. She scanned the room again and took a defensive stance, pacing in a circle, she tried to pinpoint the source, "Don't be afraid. Try to relax an-"

_**"Screw! You!"**_ Jenny shouted, "You'd better start explaining where I am and what the hell is going on or I start blasting until I find you!" Jenny formed her left arm into an energy shotgun.

"I would be happy to explain everything, just put the gun down." The voice pleaded.

"Not until you tell me who you are." Jenny's face held a very serious expression as she pointed the gun randomly around the room, "And why the hell does it sound like your in my head." She demanded more than asked.

"I figured you would recognize my voice. It's me. Axle." Axle answered.

"Axle? I thought I recognized the voice, I just wasn't sure because I can't find you..." Jenny calmed a little and lowered her weapon, "Where are you?"

"Jenny...The question is, where are..." Jenny retracted her weapon as confusion now crept across her face, "Your programming reactivated faster than I expected, probably due to my more advanced processing systems. I was in sleep mode and was unable to put a firewall between our systems."

"A barrier between our systems?" Jenny questioned, "Your just confusing me even more." She scanned around, still trying to locate her friend.

"The images you saw were my resent memory files. You don't...What is the last thing you remember?" Axle asked with evident concern.

"I can...Feel there's something your not telling me. The last thing I remember...is..." The room Jenny was standing in shifted into Brads front yard. Jenny was a little shocked when she saw Axle, Brad, and herself standing off with a strange robot bearing her color pattern. She remained still and watched in silence shock as the familiar scene played.

"My target has arrived." Said the bot as it fired a blast at the other Jenny who easily sidestepped the shot.

_**"NO!"**_ Jenny's memory snapped back a bit as she realized what the robots true target was. She ran as fast as she could, placing herself between the blast and the car. To her dismay the blast past right through her, destroying the car, and Brads family, just as she remembered. The entire scene froze, as if time had stopped. She fell to her knees as the oily tears began to flow, "Why...Was I so careless...So stupid." Jenny heaved a few sobs as she looked at the expressions paused across the faces of her friends. She stopped at Brad. The shock, the anger, the sadness, all displayed vividly on her former lovers face. She reached out towards him as his image began to flicker like an old television set. The entire scene faded to static and disappeared, leaving her kneeling in the vast white void alone. A Caucasian hand gently rested on her shoulder.

"These are just our memories, it's painfully to watch I know, but you can't change what's already happened...I'm sorry..." Axle spoke softly trying to ease her pain.

"_**sniff...**_You keep saying things like that...Tell me whats going on. Am I...Are we...Dead?" Jenny asked. Even if he couldn't feel her emotions, her tone said it all.

"Death is a hard thing to explain for beings like us." He removed his hand and tried to explain, "Your aware, but not active..."

"The memories...The ones I seen first...You said they were yours. I'm guessing that the robot in those files was me, right?" Jenny asked while standing and wiping away the tears. She kept her back to him.

"...Yes. Those images were from my point of view. Jenny...Your body was destroyed in battle. You saved us all, but..the cost was dear." Axle paused for a brief moment to find the right words, "It's..It's my fault. I gave you my power core, you used it to defeat that evil machine, but...The power was to much. It made your emotions wild, you couldn't control them and they overrided your power management systems. The result was the failure of your dampeners, causing unpredictable and uncontrollable surges. You were not deigned for that much power, which caused a catastrophic failure to your structural integrity-"

"Ha..._**sniff**_...I melted into a puddle of slag...Gotcha..." Jenny depressingly simplified with her interruption, "I appreciate you softening the blow but, dead as a door nail says it all." She turned to face him, a little surprised by his human like appearance, she continued to speak none the less, "That still doesn't explain you, or why you look like you did the day you we met you. Where I'm I? Please...Tell me the truth."

"_**Sigh**_...Your mother saved the emergency hard drive housing your...Essence. Unfortunately, the hard drive was to damaged to access your data. I was badly damaged in the fight and offered to bond your hard drive with my systems during my repair time. It was the only way to retrieve your data. Your sorta...In limbo, nside my C.P.U. until your mom finishes your new body."

"Soooo...I'm like, inside your head? That's why you look like that. Virtual reality. Kinda." Jenny looked herself up and down then all around at the void, "And I suppose I can feel because you can, right?"

"Yes. I created a simulation of your room for you when you activated. I didn't think your systems would bond with mine so quickly. I guess it's because were so similar. I know this is an incredible shock Jenny, but I'll be here for you. You can use my C.P.U. like a simulator until my repair is complete. Then...Then things get interesting." Axle had a nervous grin on his face. Jenny sensed his shyness to tell her everything.

"Interesting? Define interesting." Jenny shot him a look from the corner of her eye. The same look she gave him when they first met.

"Well...I've never done anything like this before sooo..." Axle needlessly swallowed hard under the glance,

"Spill it." Jenny demanded as she formed her hands into thunder fists and flexed them. More to experience the feel than to intimidate, Axle assumed.

"I wont be able to completely separate our programs until I download your data into the new body. Witch means, you will have superuser privilege to all of my systems. You can see what I see if you want, feel what I feel, uhhhh...know what I'm thinking, even take control of my body. If you chose." Axle, begrudgingly spat out to fast for humans to understand, "Not yet though. I still need 9.36 hours of recovery time. Until then, you can experiment around in here, or go off line..." He suggested.

"Ha. You mean I got the super powerful mysterious robot boy under my thumb?" Axle gulped again. Jenny smiled for the first time when she seen the look on his face, "Don't worry, you still got 9.358 hours left. I promise I'll go easy on ya."

"Ri...Right I'm going off line now until time to activate...Sooo, I'll be seeing you later..." Axle forced an awkward smile as Jenny watched him flicker into static and fade away, just like the memory files. Left standing alone, she decided to try out the simulation program. She stared at her hand, concentrating hard, she visualized what she wanted to happen. Slowly, a fifth digit, a pinky sprouted on her hand. She smiled again. This may not be officially real, but she was not about to let that keep her from enjoying it to the fullest.

**Somewhere in the United States Southwest. A plane lands in an undisclosed location.**

"You wanna tell me where we're going yet?" An irritated Red-headed teenager asked. His voice deep with sarcastic boredom, "We've been flying for forever..."

"Three and a half hours and we are touching down now. Jeez, your father never complained like this." Dale commented.

"What did you say?" Brad obviously didn't like the remark.

"Easy red. Save that anger for the ones who deserve it." Brad gave him the eye for a few moments none the less. The silence continued until the plane slowed to a stop. After an all clear announcement from the pilot, the doors of the Skyway aircraft opened. Brad shaded his eyes from from the intense sunlight. Once his eyes adjusted, he saw what was clearly a heavily guarded military style base. Armed escorts accompanied them from the aircraft a short distance, then stopped at a door requiring security clearance. Clearance Dale obviously had as the door slid open and slammed shut behind them, leaving the duo in a completely white hallway. No sign of any discrepancy save for the door on the far end, "No sudden movements now. Don't need another fried cadet this week!" Dale casually informed.

"Fr-fried?" Brad asked sheepishly. Dale smiled a little to himself.

"I'm just yanking your chain! _**Ha!**_ But, seriously, no sudden movements." The two continued until they reached the opposite door.

"What did you mean by (_**another **_and _**cadet**_) back there?" Brad asked, making sure to over enunciate the words in question. Dale just glanced at him with a slight grin. A quick retina scan continued the forward progress of their journey. Brad couldn't help but to gawk at the massive hanger as they stepped through the doorway. The hanger was filled to the brim with all manner of scientist, gadgets and technology. A large majority of witch he had never seen before, "Whoooaaa...what is this place?"

"Awe, the ole place? This is just the most top secret place on Earth! Well...We think. It's kinda hard to find out if there is a more secretive place. You know...Cause it would be...Even more...Top...Hey! Don't touch that!" Dale ran over to Brad, who was clearly not listening, about to hop on a prototype hover board, "Get back here! We'll get to all the cool stuff later, right now you got to see M." Dale explained as he dragged Brad away from the board.

"Just who is this M guy anyway?"

"_**She**_ and it'll be better if you just meet her." They reached an elevator on the far end of the hanger. The doors opened as they approached. Dale stepped in first and motioned for Brad to follow. Once the doors closed the elevator began to descend. The silence didn't last long this time, "There's...Somethings you need to know before we arrive...Things about your father..." Dale's words hung in air for a moment before Brad replied.

"My father was a _**good**_ man. He retired a _**hero**_, a _**veteran**_ from Skyway. After he came home, he worked in an office day and night to take care of us. _**With**_ a disability." Brad began to become red in the face as he spoke, "And he...He continued to do so until the day he died." The pint up emotions coming to a boil as anger, Brad clenched his fists and began to tremble a little, "That's what I know about my father! I've put up with this shit long enough! Do you even know what I lost today? _**Do you even care?**_ I didn't lose a brother I lost Tuck Carbunckle! A man and women didn't die today, Derrick and Linda Carbunkle died today! A robot wasn't deactivated today, Jennifer Wakeman died today! Defending me! Hell defending all of us from that, that...Robot!" Brad let a heavy sigh leave his mouth as he leaned against the elevator wall, "The only reason I agreed to even come with you is because anything was better than staying there. Seeing my home like that was like...My own personal hell..." Dale let him have his moment but, only for a moment.

"I do know what you lost. And I damn sure know what they meant to you. Brad, you need to know that your father was no accountant to some corporation. That was his cover. Your father never retired. In-fact, he became a valuable asset in the area of, shall we say, field observation." Dale let this knowledge sink in before continuing, "Why do you think you lived so close to Dr. Wakeman? She was head of the Global Defense Project. After the whole Armageddroid fiasco, she retired. We knew she had begun work on a new type of defense droid when she left and with all that knowledge of Top Secret Skyway what not, well...We needed to keep an eye on her."

"You mean, my dad was spying on Jenny this whole time?" Brad asked.

"_**Observing**_, not spying. And when he was at his _**"job"**_ he was actually monitoring deep space spy satellites focused on Cluster Prime. We were aware of the civil unrest on the planet and kept eyes on the situation encase anything headed our way. His main task was deployment of a highly trained top secret strike team to deal with threats of the _**mechanical**_ variety." The elevator stopped, Dale reached over and pressed the door close button to allow for a few more moments of privacy. Brad simply shook his head.

"You mean Jenny. He's been helping you make a team to take out Misses W and Jenny..." Dale replied with a silent, blank stare, "This...This is just...Insane. She would never do anything to hurt anyone."

"Believe it Red. The government provided the funding shortly after her little dream chip episode..." Dale pressed the door open button and stepped out into a lab that Brad could only imagine came straight from a Trek Wars movie, "Anyway, w think that after the planetary war, the winner abandoned the broken world for greener pastures." Dale glanced over his shoulder at Brad to make sure he was listening as they approached a giant computer screen, "They must have found our satellite and traced the signal back to earth."

"OK...Whats this got to do with me?" Brad asked.

"We intercepted a transmission from deep space a month ago. We couldn't tell exactly where it came from, but we did get a general area of where it was heading." Dale paused and turned to face Brad with hands folded behind him in the small of his back, "Tremorton." Brad seamed confused at this revelation.

"That doesn't make sense. Jenny's the only robot-" Brad stopped himself as he realized there was a resent new addition in town. Dale seen the look on his face.

"Yeah. I see you finally got it. Your new friend Axle just so happened to be in the area where the signal was going. He didn't receive the message, thank the lord, but we couldn't crack the thing, until M came along." Brad noticed Dale looking past him, he also heard the faint sounds of feet coming to a stop behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and immediately locked eyes with with a female officer. He felt his heart speed up as he fully turned to her.

"Melody?" He asked with a mixture of shock, longing, relief, and disbelief.

"Hi Brad. It's...It's been awhile..." The sweet southern bell spoke with a voice that matched her face. Clad in a Grey and Black Skyway uniform, she had defiantly grown up or modified rather, a lot since last they encountered. She had the figure Jenny dreamt of, "I heard what happened. I'm so sorry." Without hesitation, she grabbed him in a tender and much needed hug. Brad stood still for a moment, his mind void of all thought. The calm before the storm. He returned the embrace without even realizing it and then, the tears came. He felt his knees giving out and fell on them, releasing his tears into Melody's uniformed shoulder as she knelled with him.

"I...I miss them...Mel, I miss them so bad already...I don't know what I'm going to do now. I don't even know why I'm here." Brad sobbed the words out. He had unknowingly held in all the emotions around the stone heart-ed Dale, but the sight of a trusted friend was the final straw. Melody placed a finger to his lips to stop the flow of now unnecessary words.

"It's O.K. now Brad, I'm here and I'm never leaving you again." Brad smiled. Somehow he just knew she was telling the truth.

"_***Cough*cough* **_I hate to interrupt your little moment but, there is still a lot that you don't know. Melody, if you please." Dale insisted. Melody stood and easily pulled Brad to his feet with her.

"Yes sir." Melody walked to the giant computer, converted her right hands pointer finger into a U.S.B. cable and plugged it in. Video of what seemed to be key points in Melody's memory files played on half the screen. Graphs of seismic activity overlying the image of Cluster Prime appeared on the other side of the giant monitor, "Everyone assumed that my father died that day at the robotics convention but, he survived. When he returned to the lab, he swore he would have his vengeance on Dr. Wakeman. He built a communications array powerful enough to reach Cluster Prime. The Hive answered. In exchange for XJ-9's weapons systems data, they promised to share their latest experimental technology so that he could have his revenge. The catch was he would have to help them perfect it. My father captured Killgore and used him as a test subject for the Hive's tech."

"So, that's what happened to him. Yeah, me an Jen had a run in with him awhile back." Brad recalled as the images played on the monitor,

"Kilgore was the first step. He began experiments on me shortly after. I wanted no part of the mess he was creating and escaped at my first chance." Melody explained.

"That's why you look so, uhhh, grown up." Brad blushed a little. Melody, surprisingly, blushed as well.

"Yeah, anyway, shortly after I escaped, my father's lab was destroyed and he along with it. I wandered around the planet for awhile, not knowing were to go or what to do..." She frowned a little at the thought, "Dale tracked me down. He's looked after me and made me apart of his team. I shared the information with Derrick."

"The time-line of Dr. Locus activities and Cluster Primes seismic activity match up. A few months later and the entire planet is torn apart, not a single robot left activated." Dale added, "That's why we need this team. This new robot, _**Axle**_, shows up, deactivates XJ-9, The Silver Shell goes haywire, attacks Skyway officers then disappears off the face of the Earth. If you ask me, we've been set up. How do I know? Show him Melody." Melody changed the images on the screen to one steady shot. The image was of a list of names with key information beside small pictures. Information such as location, schedule, and usual hangouts. Every member of Brads immediate family was there, including himself, along with the order terminate. Dr. Locus was on the list and Dr. Mogg. Dr. Wakeman and XJ-9 were as well but orders were to capture them, "This is the message we intercepted. The one headed towards Tremorton. I can't say for sure weather or not it was going to this Axle character, but I doubt it was intended for XJ-9. The best we could figure, Axle didn't get the kill order so, the Hive had to send in another robot. We could really use your help Red. Tell us everything you know about Axle and be apart of my team." Dale starred at him very seriously, awaiting an answer. Brad looked uncertainly into Melody's eyes, "Where do I begin?"

**The Hive. Location unknown.**

"Awake human filth." A rather deep toned creature spoke. The human somehow instinctively knew it was directed towards him. Groggily, he opened it's eyes to observe a world of blurry hazes, "Ah, so you are alive." The deep voice spoke again. The humans vision cleared slowly. Oh, how it wished it could rub it's eyes. He looked around at his surroundings, such an odd place he thought. So, much mechanical nonsense, this couldn't be Earth,_** "Pay attention you filth!"**_ Again, the deep voice bellows.

W"Where...where am I...Whats going on?" The bewildered teen asked as his senses slowly became aware of the situation he was in.

"_**Silence!**_ There is no questioning the Queen! Only understanding from her speakings!" Another boast from the deep voice. This time the voice rang out a more familiar tone the more the humans senses became aware.

"Stand down Smytus. This is no mere drone. No, this one will obey with little modification." The human watched as the beautiful and puzzling female robot arose from a mechanical throne, "This one is apart from the other primitive organics that dwell on this mud ball." The human glanced at the deep toned robot the beautiful one somewhat scalded.

"Smytus...I remember-" His memory began to come back.

"Your memory is returning? Oh, how wonderful!" The familiar looking female robot spoke, "I thought that Smytus would never get you back on line, that we would have to gather whatever information we could from your rotting cortex."

"I remember now! Your Vexes and Smytus! You look so different though...Can't think straight...Whats wrong with me?..Are..Are you friends or foe?" Sheldon asked, honestly unsure.

"Do you like?" Vexes spun in a circle to present herself fully, "I know I've deceived you in the past, but this is the real me. I went through a lot of modifications, I hope I please your perception arrays." The female robot stopped to face him, arms stretched out to the sides as if to present herself further as she slowly stepped toward him. He examined her as she moved to him. He ran his eyes up and down her form, taking in the beauty before him. She possessed the body of an Earth supermodel. Full figure from top to bottom, he could tell she had similar design characteristics to his favored XJ-9. The head was a dead give away, an exact replica of Jenny Wakeman's, down to the pigtails, although the tips came to a deadly sharp point and reached to the top of her buttocks. The coloring was defiantly of a Cluster origin, "Hello..." Vexes asked as if to an inattentive child.

"Why do you look like Jenny? Why can't I think right? And...What the hell happened to Smytus?" Sheldon asked the fem fatal.

"Oh, him? Well, he didn't fair so well when that garbage meteor exploded. When he was found there wasn't enough left of him or Krakus to worry with so, my minions gathered up all the bits and pieced them together. That's why he looks like a pile of scrap." Smytus folded his poorly constructed arms in a disgusted manner, "He did receive Krakus knowledge of robotic, so he is of use to me. My appearance, however, is do to my body being almost completely destroyed. I existed as a program in my emergency hard drive until I was found by a most curious race of creatures. Neither organic or mechanical, they existed as living star energy. They foolishly took me in, repaired me. They were far more powerful than me so I had to wait..." Vexes moved to within just a few inches of Sheldon's visions, "They built an exact replica of my former self based off the information stored in my hard drive. I lived amongst them for a year as an accepted member of their society. I knew my loyal subjects would be looking for me, but I dare not cross the Pyrertus. They could melt me into slag. Fate, however, decided to play it's hand." Sheldon tensed a little as a slight shock crept up his spine and exploded into a breath taking image inside his mind. He was instantly standing in a massive city on an alien planet, so close to it's parent star that it filled the entire sky. He looked around and spotted Vexes, hiding behind a building corner, peeking out at the sky every so often. Out of curiosity he looked himself. The image was stunning. A planet sized asteroid drifting lazily by between the star and the planet, casting a dark shadow across the city as it went. He looked back at Vexes who was now smiling evilly. She moved from the corner and raced towards the highest structure in the city. To his amazement, he was following along beside her without even moving, as though he were inside a movie. When she entered the asteroid's shadow, Vexes sprouted wings and took flight, heading towards the complexes highest point, "I discovered their weakness. Darknesssss..." Vexes hissed her narration with detectable delight, "The asteroid provided the perfect opportunity." Sheldon gazed down upon the immaculate city, paying special attention to the areas where the shadow was overtaking the light. The beautiful, luminous Pyrertus people turned into small flickering blue flames in the dark, "Their ruler, Cha'terger, had just produced his first born son not 5.89 cycles ago. Ha ha...That poor fool. He once told me that he could sense a wickednessss from me. He said he would not imprison me because I...I was no threat to even the weakest of their race!" He could feel the hate in her tone, "The bastard turned his back on me! _**ON ME! I AM A QUEEN!**_ I swore vengeance that day no matter the price, but I knew it wouldn't be easy. I had to wait, time my strike with the passing of the asteroid. I observed the space rock some time back and plotted out it's course. I knew this day would come and I couldn't wait." The robot Queen smashed into the building with enough force to gain entrance. By the looks of it, Sheldon could only speculate that this was some type of throne room. At the far end there stood a figure, lightly glowing blue and wisping faint blue flames. The creature was slightly leaned over a rectangular box of some kind. Sheldon could hear the creature muttering something to the boxes contents, whatever they may be. Vexes calmly retracted her wings and strolled across the room towards the box and it's guardian, a mocking half smile etched on her metal face. She stopped no less than 10ft. from them.

"Hello again mighty Cha'terger. I come bearing grave newsssss...it seems something terrible has happened to your son..." She seductively spoke. Cha'terger stood and turned to face the intruder.

"I knew this day would come. The prophets talked of the asteroid bringing death in it's shadow. They said I would not survive to see the light again..." Cha'terger tensed.

"What a coincidence, I had the same vision!" Vexes retorted, "It doesn't have to end that way though. Just hand over your son. You can always produce anothe-"

_** "SILENCE WITCH!"**_ The outburst caught Sheldon by surprise, causing him to cower, "The prophets said I would die this day, but they also said my assailant would fall into the darkness from witch it came." Cha'terger smiled, "Come then death! Do. Your. _**WORST!**_" He let out a wave of energy, striking the Queen and sliding her backwards several feet. She steadied her stance and allowed her smile to return.

"Now you've gone and showed me just how weak you are." She fired back with a beam from the orb on her forehead. Striking the King and sending him through his own palace walls into the air, "I can finally claim my prize." She glided over to box the King was protecting. She gazed at it's contents. A small blue star, pulsing like a heartbeat. She carefully reached in and scooped up the the bright thing. The paint on her hands burning away as she held it, "How unfortunate for you my dear. The energy you produce out of star light just happens to be compatible with my systems. All I have to do is consume you and escape this planet. I can unlock your powers later...Ha...Hahaha..._**HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**_" She cackled madly with victorious delight, "The power of a star inside of me! I will make everyone _**PAY!**_ Starting with that traitor...Vega.." She frowned deeply with the passing process, "No matter...I'll burn that bridge when I cross it." Just as she was bringing the Cha'terger's son to her razor toothed mouth, he appeared behind her.

"Ha. I understand now. The prophets words ring true. You want power? Then allow me to grant your wish." Vexes didn't have time to defend the Kings move. She couldn't have if she did have the time. He turned into blue mist and surrounded her. Her energy hungry systems eagerly absorbed the Kings essence. His son feel from her hands to ground. She began shaking violently, convulsing, her H.U.D. sending every warning signal in her systems. She feel to her knees, clutching her stomach in pain.

"Wha...What have you done to me!" The Queen demanded.

"I granted your wish mad Queen. More power than you could imagine. More power than you can handle..." Vexes could not control her own body. Her systems overridden, the King was now in control, she could only feel, observe, and try to survive, "My son...One day, you will know my story. You will know my sacrifice for you. I challenge you, be a better ruler than me. Farewell." Vexes's propulsion systems kicked on full blast, sending her streaking through the palace roof and into the planets atmosphere. Vexus fought hard against Cha'terger's control of her body. The King's grip was to much and soon they left the darkness of the asteroid, "Now that my power has been restored I will end you and ensure my planets...My son's safety." The King spoke solemnly.

"You fool. You are apart of my power supply now, if you deactivate me then you'll deactivate yourself!" Vexes warned.

"I've existed for millions of years. I fear not death but embrace it." Vexes could not respond. To busy silently screaming into the void as she felt the paint boil off her body. She barely caught a glimpse of the planet and it's star fading fast as if she was moving very quickly, before her optics melted, "Goodnight Queen." Those words were the last she heard before she downloaded her being into her emergency hard drive. Just before the explosion, she ejected the hard drive into deep space. Leaving the King and her former body to suffer the fate of a small supernova. Sheldon's vision returned to normal and the tingling in his brain faded.

"Connection to the Hive mind successful my Queen." Smytus commented.

"Excellent. Of course, I knew it would work. This one's mind operates more like a machine than the other organics." Vexes replied as she made her way back to her throne.

"How did the Hive find your hard drive? How does Axle fit into all this? How do I?" Sheldon questioned the Queen as she took her seat.

"I sent a tachyon pulse before the explosion. The supernova carried that signal at light speed towards Cluster Prime. Smytus and my loyal subjects came for my signal." She replied.

"We downloaded the information Vexes had accumulated over the course of her stay with the Pyrertus. Their technology is astounding, the problem was the power supply. We had to capture energy particles from Cha'terger's explosion, upon studying his remains, we discovered a DNA type sequence. It took a little work, but the result was amazing. We could create stars! Small one's, but stars non-the-less. A limitless power source. With such energy powering Vexes new body she would be unstoppable. Add to that XJ-9's weapon's systems, the best designs from Dr. Wakeman's blueprint's, Cluster's technology and...Well...You get the idea." The mismatched behemoth added rather proudly, "It took a few experiments to perfect the Starbirth tech. Our society has never dealt with DNA before, so we recruited the human Dr. Locust. His breakthroughs on energy based DNA replication where crucial. He used that useless tinker toy in his first experiments. Then the robot designated Melody for phase two. With the successful integration into existing robots, the next step was to build one specifically designed for the Starbirth." He smiled a smile of satisfaction as he spoke, "The one you call _**Axle**_ is a prototype. The second in fact. DV-1 was the bot you encountered just recently. An experiment to see just how well Dr. Wakeman's technology melded with Cluster's, as I'm sure you can recall, it was a success. DV-2 was the first prototype to receive the an actual star instead of a energy pack filled with solar energies. Another success." He boasted with a smile.

"I wasn't sure how useful he would be but...So far he has proven invaluable." With a wave of her hand, Vexes brought up a holographic image displaying video of Jenny, Brad, Nora, the XJ's, their school, friends and of Sheldon himself, "All of Jennifer's most precious secrets, beamed directly to me by DV-2. I will use this information to destroy her reputation and every other facet of her existence." She said rather matter of factually, "I'll slaughter her loved ones before her eyes and scorch the Planet of all life. She'll be begging for deactivation by the time I come for her!"

"Destroy the Earth? I thought you wanted to enslave it?" Sheldon asked while trying to move. He found it impossible as if his body could not or would not respond to his minds commands.

"I too found wisdom in the words of the Pyrertus prophets. I will forever dwell in the darkness of space, traveling the Universe dealing death to all organic, leaving behind my seed on each planet." She smiled seductively at him as she talked, "That is were you come in my dear. You are going to be my companion in my travels. You will be granted a new body and powers. In return you will do as I say or...Or you will go off line. Permanently." The seriousness of the situation was becoming more evident to Sheldon as his mind seemed to become more clear.

"My Queen his Theta waves are increasing. We need to initiate the process quickly or the transfer my not work properly." Smytus informed. With a nod of her head, she signaled him to begin.

"Goodnight Sheldon." Was the last thing he heard before the familiar feeling crept up his spine and out, his lights went.


	7. Forgotten Sins

**CHAPTER VII**

**Forgotten Sins**

_** "Judge not less we be judged...Our hearts beat with the same rhythm of sin, each thump a shovel full of grief to bury our demons. We may walk away from our past but, we carry our sins forever."**_

_** R.D.M.**_

**Nora's Lab**

_ "Twenty _e_ight more minutes..." _Nora nervously thought to herself as she pried her eyes away from the clock on the wall and back to her work, _"Five times per second..." _She's having difficulty staying focused on the tasks at hand. A fact not lost on her as she realized she was, once again, averaging her pens taps upon the desk. It's 6:38 AM. She hasn't rested for a moment since Axle burst in half deactivated, convinced her into allowing him to merge her daughters hard drive with his and then, requested to be submerged in a vat of oil. She dropped her pen and rubbed her tired eyes at the ridiculousness of it all.

"Mother?" XJ-8 asked in as gentle a tone as her vocal systems would allow.

"Hm?" Nora replied sleepily as she straightened her glasses.

"Your prolonged silence would suggest a troubled mind, most likely brought on by the lack of sleep, compounded by the situation at hand." XJ-8 stated.

"Thank you for your concern 8, was there something you needed?" Nora asked resting her cheek in the palm of her hand to look at XJ-8.

"I took the liberty of checking your calculations several times during your_**...processing...**_Little episode. I determined your results to be accurate, which leads to a conundrum. Did he lie to us?" XJ-8 asked. Nora glanced back to the clock on the wall and nervously began drumming her fingers on her work station.

"We will find out the accuracy of my result momentarily..." Another small moment of silence and XJ-8 spoke once again.

"What will our course of action be when he activates?" XJ-8 asked.

"I don't yet know. I just want Jennifer back safely." She replied in the midst of stifling a yawn.

"If it is of any relief, I believe Axle to be trustworthy. I received a_**...processing...**_good vibe from him." Nora mentally smiled at XJ-8's very human pontification.

"Well, that then begs the question, why would he lie?" She mentally sighs, "There is no denying the evidence collected on Sheldon's hard drive. I've even gone back and cross referenced the coordinates of his home-world to every known plain. Nothing. Just like Sheldon said. Then there's this..." She grabbed a piece of paper with a tangled mess of scribblings on it's surface, "The only significant connection I could find is to wave lengths of light, by cross referencing the wave's length, as indicated by the coordinates, to our own alphabetic system, the binary coordinates roughly translate into, "See no evil." Almost as if to mock us..." Nora tossed the paper to the side.

"What of the encrypted transmissions?" XJ-8 asked.

"Most were between Axle and Jennifer. They both were feeling the same strange connection and were discussing possible reasons. The others are encrypted beyond even my ability to break. I did, however, discover their point of origin." A few quick keystrokes and an image of a satellite appeared on her monitor, "Voyager 5. The deep space spy satellite deployed shortly after the Cluster invasion. It's preposterous I know, but it is true. Some one high up is either manipulating us all or the Hive is making a move towards Earth." Nora explained. XJ-8 stared at her creator for a moment before commenting on the subject.

"Neither possible threat would seem to have any direct connection to Axle." XJ-8 observed.

"Maybe...Maybe not. I haven't been able to contact Vega on this matter. All I know is that one of my children is inside the mind of a dangerous alien robot." Nora ran her hands through her hair. XJ-8 recognized her mother's anger at the situation.

"Jenny is technologically superior to her sister units. It is logical to assume she will be fine." Nora nervously sighed in agreement, "Besides, I am the physically superior sibling. If harm should come to my sister_**...processing...**_I will pop a cap in Axle's ass." Nora had to now stifle her laughter.

"Indeed. I also cross referenced XJ-9's blueprints to Axle's and there are _**noticeable**_ similarities. Vexes had Jennifer's blueprints before her dethroning. The video and audio from Sheldon's hard drive confirms that the robot they encountered knew Axle, it also said he was involved in a war on Cluster Prime, which I will be investigating...Yet Axle seemed as though he didn't recall any of it and has made no hostile move towards the Earth. Hell, he's even helped save us, going as far as to put himself in harms way to protect Jennifer." She leaned back in her chair, grabbing the pack of cigarettes in her lab coat pocket as she did. A flick of her wrist and fire gave life to her terrible vice. A relieving wave washed over her with the exhale, "Then there is the matter of the_** connection**_ Jennifer said she felt towards Axle. She said it was like all of her wireless connectivity was accessed at once and, at the same time, it wasn't any of them. She said it was..._**different**_." XJ-8 observed the entire scene.

"Tobacco is wacko if your a teen." XJ-* commented, "Have you modified existing or installed new hardware that could have caused the connection?" Nora thought asking where XJ-8 hear such an archaic saying but, she decided to let the comment slide.

"No. That's the thing. The only theory I can conclude is that her progressive learning annex has somehow developed it's own sense based off of her surrounding environment. Using various combinations of her current senses and emotions to write her own costume code. Perhaps, even mimicry of a human sense." Nora thought aloud.

_**"Processing...**_What sense would she be mimicking?" XJ-8 asked. Nora blew out a rather thick cloud of smoke before replying.

"My guess would be attraction...love. Jennifer's experimented before in the past with similar feelings. For example: Sebastian, The Silver Shell, YK-9...That blonde headed boy, the one afraid of machines, what's his name...Oh never mind. Even more recently with Bradly. The point is she has experienced these situations in the past and I believe that with each experience she...Learned. Correcting the code with every experience. She is maturing very rapidly." Nora explained.

"They grow up so fast." XJ-8 replied.

_ "Yes they do..." _Nora thought quietly to herself. She glanced over at XJ-8 quickly with a slight smile.

"It would be logical to contact Skyway Patrol. They should be made aware of the possible satellite hacking. Considering the evidence, we may require assistance when Axle reactivates. Do you have any remaining secure links to Skyway personnel?" XJ-8 suggested. Nora had to think back.

"There was this one person. He actually trained underneath Bradly's father years ago..." She paused momentarily to suck in another breath, "Dale. He was kind of a nut like Mogg. We never could see eye to eye. He despised robots, more of a military man, he believed we shouldn't waist money on defense droids and focus on becoming stronger as humans. It's a long shot, but I'll try." Nora stood and made her way to her video communicator and began typing in an old familiar number.

**Skyway Secret Base**

Dale glanced down at his watch, a tiny, blinking, red light starred back. He looked to Melody and Brad, both were to busy to notice anything other than each other. He took the opportunity to slip into his office and take a seat behind his desk. A quick tap of the keyboard answered the call. Nora's face appeared on his computer screen, XJ-8 sat behind her on the ground, "Nora! It's been far to long! How have you been?" Dale's tone sounded as sarcastic as it did sincere.

"Let's cut the crap Dale." Nora flatly stated, "I have information about a possible satellite hacking, which may have been used to broadcast encrypted signals-"

"We know." Dale replied flatly, "Voyager 5. We've been tracking the signals for a while now, as well as, the Cluster Prime situation." The words enraged Nora.

_**"YOU'VE KNOWN?**_ Why haven't you taken action? My daughter was destroyed by a Hive drone and you could have possibly prevented it! Why didn't you inform anyone?" Nora demanded. Dale smiled a little.

"Top secret info I'm afraid. Not my problem your _**defense**_ droid couldn't handle the situation." He propped his feet up on his desk, "It's to bad really, Squad X didn't even get a chance at deactivating it or your little experiment..." Dale glanced at XJ-8 at the end of his reply.

"_**YOU PIECE OF SHIT!**_ You allowed that thing to enter Earths atmosphere! You allowed my daughter to be killed! And for what? Pride?" Nora's blood boiled, "You always opposed everything I did! Especially the defense droid program! You just couldn't accept that my creations were far more capable than yourself at protecting people!" Dale felt his temper rise but, remained calm, "The destruction of the XJ unit wasn't our _**intentions**_. I thought that with the Silver Shell, XJ-9, and Axle the situation was under control. My bad." Nora starred at him through the monitor with hate in her eyes, "By the way, I'm bringing Brad on board the team."

"Oh, the mighty Squad X!" Nora replied sarcastically, "Earth's greatest hope. Your a fool. What if the Hive were to attack today? Like it not, Jennifer was the best line of defense against-" Dale interrupted again.

"Look Nora, this isn't a dick measuring contest. Your a smart gal. Then you should have come to the conclusion that the Hive is responsible for this and that an invasion is highly likely. That new robot is proof that they're making a move and that they are getting stronger. Your lil' XJ unit wouldn't stand a chance. Derrick Carbunkle was an information collector on _**all**_ things robotic before his death, monitoring the Cluster war. Going by what happened there, I have a strong feeling this is just the beginning."

"Is that what you call _**spying**_ these days?" Nora folded her arms, "Information collecting?"

"He was in-charge of monitoring our deep space satellites, as well as, robotic situations on Earth. Let me finish. It was his duty to deploy Squad X if need be. Weather it was on Earth or in space. He noticed the signals coming from the malfunctioning satellite first and ,he's the first one dead. Shortly before his death, he intercepted a transmission. With the help of Melody Locust, we were able to decipher the message. It was a hit list. Your name was on it, along with all the XJ's, Brad's family, and others. We believe that the message was intended for Axle but, since he didn't receive it, they sent someone else to carry out the orders. I really don't like robots but, in the matter of planetary defense I'm willing make an exception."

"Are you suggesting that we should cooperate on this particular situation?" Nora asked with a slight sound of surprise in her voice, "What a coincidence."

"Yeah. Axle, as you call it, is a lot more powerful than you realize. Melody's father helped the Hive develop their new technology. From what she's told to us, DV-2 may just be waiting for a signal to go ape shit and kill us all. Measures have been taken to ensure that the satellite doesn't send anymore signals. YK-9 has been dispatched to destroy it, but Nora...If I were you, I would get as far away from that thing as possible." Dale's voice traded it's usual sarcastic tone for a deadly serious one. Nora glanced in the direction of the oil filled tank.

"That's going to be a problem. Jennifer's programming survived the fight. She is inside of him. He is here, in my lab being repaired as we speak. I wont make any action towards him until she is safely inside her new body, and _**neither will you.**_" Nora ordered.

"So, what's your plan?" Dale asked.

"I want you and your team to meet me here for Ax...DV-2's activation. At the very least...We need to prepared...For the worst." Nora spoke sadly. Dale could hear the sadness in her voice.

"When do you need us?" He asked.

"ET...Fourteen minutes." She replied.

"God-da!...He's going online that quick? I'll send Melody right away." Dale ended the conversation at that. He ran outside to Brad and Melody, interrupting their conversation, "Up an Adam M, we got a mission. Wakeman residence. Twelve minutes." Melody sprang up, converting her feet into huge rockets as she did.

"Do I need to handle DV-2?" Melody asked. Her face telling him that she is ready.

"No. Do not engage unless absolutely necessary. Monitor the situation until I arrive." A quick nod from Dale signaled she was dismissed and with a loud clap of thunder Melody disappeared through a launch tunnel.

"Wait! Whats going on at Jenny's?" Brad asked, concerned.

"It seems your robot friend is still alive..." Brad perked a little at the revelation, "She's trapped inside the one you call Axle's C.P.U. he's going to wake up shortly and Miss Wakeman wants us there just in case." Dale explained.

"In case what?" Brad asked.

"In case he ain't as cute an cuddly as he usually is OK?" Dale replied with a sarcastic smile.

"So, what Melody told me was true. He's a spy for the Hive?" Brad asked.

"Looks that way." Dale grabbed Brad by the shoulders, spun him around, and guided him to a seat in front of a computer station and shoved him down into it, "I want you to set here and monitor the situation from your fathers station. This monitor shows YK-9's information, all these others show information about DV-2, the Hive and what not. Good luck." With that he turned to leave.

"Hold up! I don't know what the hell I'm doing!" Brad exclaimed.

"Just-just monitor the damn things! Your father had a nack for this stuff and I have a feeling you do to." Dale turned around and ran towards the elevator that brought them down with his cell phone plastered to the side of his head. Brad looked back at all the monitors in front of him.

"Well...Not the kind of measuring I was looking for..." Brad spoke to himself.

**Inside DV-2's C.P.U.**

Jennifer Diane Wakeman was in cyber heaven. She had spent a large portion of her time testing the limits of Axle's processing power, changing her body into various configurations of the female form. After playing around with a few different designs, she rummaged through Axle's data and found access to his memory information center. Inside, she came across a few megabytes of info on her new body's design. Enough to conjure up a close match. She figured she might as well try it out before she was put into the real thing. The new design was much more streamlined than her last. Rounded curves replaced the sharp edges of her old body. Same skirt, same top except made from a metallic fiber which, although much stiffer than normal clothing, somehow moved with her body. She now had the form she always wanted. The legs of a human female, as well as, a high B cup. Her trade mark pigtails and round head remained but, showed more humanism, and her face now showed the appearance of a young women. She spent nearly two hours in front of a full length mirror wearing nothing but her panty plating, dancing and admiring her new figure. After she was satisfied with her new appearance, she spent the majority of her time conjuring up villains from her memory files to fight. To her surprise, they all were defeated with relative ease. Her new body was amazingly powerful, "Ten more minutes..." She spoke aloud, checking on the repair timer, "Might as well go one more round." An alphabetically categorized list of images appeared in a window in front of her. She began flipping from left to right through all the pictures in the window with a movement of her hand, until she rested on one, "Vexes. Out of all my enemies you were the most deadly, not because you were strong...Because, you were smart. I could have easily dismantled you but, you always had something up your sleeve." She brought the image out into an exact replica of Vexes, "You knew all about me before you disappeared but I still don't know anything about you." She squinted her optics at the hologram and took a offensive stance. The virtual Vexes matched her stare and took a defensive position. Just then, a search bar appeared on top of the image of Vexes.

_** "Search Vexes?" **_It asked. Jenny relaxed and the hologram faded.

"Huh, my superuser privileges most have kicked in." She reasoned, "What would Axle know about her?" With a mental command, she proceeded to run the program. A vast list of programs and protocols with different configurations of the search terms letters appeared before her. She quickly scrolled through them until one particular result caught her eye.

_** "CURRENT MODEL IDENTIFICATION: DAMIAN VEXUS MARK TWO"**_

"Damian Vexes mark two? What the hell does than mean?" She tried to search further through his systems.

_** "ACCESS DENIED" **_The words appeared, big bold and black in front of her.

"Access denied? He said I could access all of his operating systems." Immediatly, a large portion of his systems where blocked off. The only information she could obtain, was a comparison chart of stored data versus available free space, "Just as I thought, huge quantities of data are inaccessible. Visual, audio, long term memory...Even selected communications systems. Some files have been completely erased altogether..." As she tried prying further, the vast white void suddenly shifted to pitch black. A gigantic metal door materialized in front of her, the words _**"ACCESSED DENIED" **_brightly blazed red across them.

"Someone wants to keep their secrets..." She pointed her right arm straight out and formed a large laser cannon and fired an intense beam at the door. Moving in circular motion, she melted a large enough hole to crawl through, "Hacking is so much easier when your just a program." The door dissolved away revealing a window covered with binary flowing from top to bottom, resembling digital rain. Jenny quickly began scanning the window. Gigabytes upon gigabytes of data, "Starbirth technology beta systems? Axle is a prototype? He's only been online for nearly a year..." The more she scanned, the more questions she had, "Wait...recorded data...He's-he's been recording information about all of us...My god...He's been transmitting the data into space!" With every byte of data her oil boiled more, "You...You son of a bitch...I actually thought I might..." She silenced the process as she sped up her processor to the max to take in all the information. In a nano second she found his video and audio transmitters and hacked the signal, trying to identify the source. A new window popped up on her right she turned to it to see a very rustic enormous room filled with mechanical architecture. As she looked from left to right, the camera panned to where her eyes pointed. Suddenly, she heard a voice in the distance.

"Incoming transmission from DV-2." An all to familiar voice spoke.

"Excellent! Tell me, what new information does are little experiment have?" Jenny clenched her fists tight. A huge figure came into view and sat in front of the camera. Jenny watched the robot closely. Its design matched her memory files yet it was heavily damaged. Cracked orbital lenses, missing teeth, dents, scrapes and rust covered the thing. She watched as it began typing on a keyboard.

_ "That's Smytus alright. He can't even type without looking at the keyboard." _She thought quietly to herself. Immediately the typing halted. Smytus slowly looked up from the keyboard to his monitor with a blank look.

"Uuuuhhhh, my Queen? We have a problem..." Jenny quickly shut down the optic transmission and embedded a data loop code in the transmitter, causing anyone trying to reactivate the transmission to be greeted with a continuous video and audio loop.

"Oh man...I can't believe this. It's all so confusing...I got to get out of here _**pronto...**_Axle...You and I are going to have a loooonnnggg talk when you wake up." Jenny spoke aloud to the white void.

**Nora's Lab**

Nora fell on to her ass as her entire home suddenly shook violently. Before she could even swear, Melody burst through the roof and landed in her lab, "_**Melody?**_ For the love of _**Jobs!**_ I do own a door!"

"Sorry ma'am, but I can sense his activation is close and I just can't allow anything my father helped to create hurt anyone!" Her skin and uniform began to flow as a liquid into a compartment in her abdomen. When it finished, Melody was a completely nude bronze colored female robot. Metal plating in key areas kept her essentials out of sight. A red glow, only slightly visible, surrounded her as she stood ready for anything, "XJ-8 you might want to cover your mom, just in case."

"Where is Dale?" Nora asked.

"On his way. He's contacting the rest of the team." A familiar hum emitted from the tank followed by an audible click and silence. Tension filled the room. Melody readied herself, anticipating the worst. _**"KIIISSSSHHH!" **_The glass tank suddenly shattered and Axle fell to the floor in the poodle. Melody charged a ball of red energy in the palm of her hand and pointed it at him. Slowly, he pushed himself up with his arms, still starring at the floor.

"Nigh...Nightmare...Oil and fire everywhere...I...I think I did something terrible..." His voice trembled as he spoke.

"You will cooperate with us and remove Jenny's programming or you will deal with me." Melody demanded. Axle looked up at the ball of energy pointed at him, his vision flickered between what he was seeing and images of dark red fire feed by the oil of countless robots. Suddenly the image of a razor toothed smile flashed across his optics and he freaked out.

_**"VEXES!" **_He screamed before slapping Melody's hand, sending the energy ball through the wall of Nora's lab. He sprang to his feet and tried to punch her in the stomach. She countered quickly, catching his fist and using his own momentum to throw him straight through the ceiling. He landed in the kitchen. Melody jumped through the hole and landed in front of him.

_**"Don't! Move!" **_Melody demanded. Axle didn't listen. He sprang up once again with the look of a wild animal.

"Your own daughter! How could you _**kill**_ your own _**daughter!**_" He screamed, "Your a monster." He made a move towards Melody yet, stopped mid attack. Melody looked closely at him, he was shaking, like he was fighting with something. Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out of Axle's mouth,

"Melody! I can't hold him for much longer! Get me out of here!" A USB port appeared on Axle's forehead. Melody knew what she had to do. She shot out one of her fingers, connecting it into the port. She then jumped back through the floor and quickly rushed to the new XJ-10 and connected her left hand into the back of the new models head. A second later, and the eyes of the new body sprang open. Another second and Jenny's face twisted into an expression of pure hate, "Now...Now it's time to end this." The words were as cold as ice. At speeds that Melody had a hard time calculating, Jenny hopped to her new feet. She plowed through the lab's ceiling, slamming into Axle and carring him through the roof.

"My fault...A planets worth of oil stain these hands...Oh god...Jenny, you unlocked a digital barrier in my C.P.U. I swear I didn't know..." Axle sobbed out the words as they streaked into the stratosphere.

"_**Liar!**_ Your just another drone sent to kill us! Can you hear me in there you _**bitch?**_" She yelled at him, "Watch closely, because your next!" Jenny held Axle at arms length by the throat, pulling her hand back into a tight fist. Blue electricity crackled around her hand as she swung. The others heard the clap of thunder as her fist impacted. Axle's vision blacked out. When it rebooted he found himself floating in space. He felt a hand on the back of his head, his accelerometers told him that he was picking up speed. The Earth appeared in front of him, growing rapidly. With little time before impact, Axle contacted Jenny wirelessly, "Jenny, please believe me, I didn't know! Jenny I would never hurt you...I...I-"

_** "BOOOOOMMMM!" **_The sound was deafening. Sand from the Sahara desert erupted a quarter mile into the sky with their impact, "_**WHAT? You what? Say it!**_ Tell me what this connection I feel is!" A blue aura formed around her as tears dripped from her eyes. She stood, straddling Axle as he lay at the epicenter of a massive crater, teeth clenched tight as she spat the words out and formed her left hand into a sword with glowing red hot edges. She dropped to her knees onto his abdomen and rammed the sword into Axle's right pectoral plate. Pinning him to the crater floor.

** "GGGAAAAAAHHHHHH!"** Axle screamed in pain, "You-you have to calm down. Jen-Jenny get control of your emotions!"

"So help me I will shut you down right now if you don't answer me!" Jenny formed her right hand into an identical sword and lunged at the center of his chest were his power core was housed. Axle barely avoided deactivation by catching the hot blade with both hands.

"I...I love you! The moment I activated I felt a connection to you. That's what the connection I feel means to me. I love you and I know it's crazy but it's true!" The hot metal and sizzling oil caused the blade to slide through his hands and jab just an inch or so into his chassis, **"UUHHHMMM **It-it's the power...Don't let in overwhelm you...I can teach you to control it...Please...Trust me..." Axle pleaded with her as he struggled to keep the blade from piercing his core.

"Love! _**LOVE!**_ When you love someone you don't keep files on them and you _**DAMN**_ sure don't beam that information to my most hated enemy! You say you love me, but your just another _**DRONE!**_" She forced down hard on her sword as she yelled her last word. The hot blade slide through Axle's oil covered hands again. This time, however, when the blade inched inward they both heard the sound of cracking glass. Axle gasped when the alarms signaled in his C.P.U.

"Co-containment field...Breached." Jenny detected the increasing radiation, "Critical mass in...Ten minutes...Jenny...My power source...It's going to turn in to a supernova..." Axle weakly informed.

**Meanwhile at The Hive**

"What's the problem Smytus?" The large robot cringed at the sound of his superiors voice.

"It would seem that...XJ-9's program, rather easily...Penetrated the firewall I put in DV-2's cortex. She managed to activate his communication systems and open a live feed of us for thirty six seconds. She knows where we are now, she knows...Everything." Smytus walked on his feeble crab like legs to his Queen and hung his head in sorrow, "Our plans have been discovered. What will we do now?"

"Don't beat yourself up to badly. I wont be able to prolong her suffering like I wanted so, we will have to do what they least expect. Strike _**now!**_ My new commander is ready to lead my army to Earth! To exact his revenge upon the cold heart-ed harlot that shunned his love and denied me my victory so many times in the past! Go to the cargo bay and activate the new war bots. I'll go, hm hm...Warm up the commander." Vexes smiled mischievously. Smytus smiled and bowed down.

"As you wish." He then dismissed himself.

Vexes seductive strolled towards her private chamber, "The world you so love will be brought to it's knees by your own image Jennifer. There will be suffering the likes of which you have never seen and...In the end...You will bow to me and beg for me to spare your humans and I...I will smile."


	8. Trial By Fire

**CHAPTER VIII**

**Trial by Fire**

_** "The time will come, when fate chooses to test us. It will push us to places we don't want to go. Drive us to actions that we would never consider. Stand and fight, for your friends, your family, for yourself. Rise against your enemy, no matter the cost."**_

_** R.D.M.**_

**Nora's Lab**

"Solar radiation levels are dropping steadily. Operation: success. Way to go Mom!" XJ-8 exclaimed. Melody had arrived on the scene in Africa moments after Jenny breached Axle's containment field. Melody was content with throwing DV-2 into the Sun but, Jennifer talked her into carrying him to her mother's lab after she got her emotions under control, "It would seem the ex -armor you developed is radiation resistant." Dr. Wakeman removed her helmet. Sweat beads on her fore head trickled down her face as the cooler air meet her warm skin.

"Indeed. Not the ideal situation in which to test a prototype but, a Wakeman Industries original, patent pending, none the less..." She commented as she layed the helmet aside, "I'm afraid I've only managed to put a band-aid on a festering wound. His repair systems can fix what my hands can not but, I can not imagine the containment field ever reaching 100% again." She proceeded to her computer station, typing in a few commands, "That's not all...His operating systems seam to have staled out. Its difficult to explain. Power is reaching all the necessary areas in his C.P.U. and motor control center but, instead of being translated into operational command code, it's being transferred to his main data processing center." Nora thoroughly read the data on her computer screen. Information streamed across the monitor very quickly, "My diagnostics software indicates that the bulk of his processing power has been dedicated to def-fragmenting his memory banks. All other systems have been put in a low power stand by mode." Nora huffed in frustration, "I've tried _**everything**_ to realign the power flow...His system just isn't responding to commands."

"What's that mean?" Jennifer asked. Nora wiped her brow.

"If my assumption is correct...He's lost the will to live." Nora said with a bit of aggravation in her voice from the entire situation, "It's _**absurd**_ I know but, its not uncommon in humans who experience sudden life changing events to go through a phase of self-reflection".

"And this a bad thing why?" Melody pointed out, "The son of a bitch is an enemy! He's been spying on you and beaming the information into space! I say, let him stay that way and throw him into the Sun." Melody stated rather heavy handed.

"That is not an option. Consider for a moment that we would be throwing a miniature _**star**_ into our Sun. When his containment field finally deteriorated from the Sun's power, his power core would immediately go supernova and blow a hole in the Sun's corona, exposing it's core. I'm purely speculating but, logic would suggest that with the Sun's core exposed, it would expand rapidly from that point, similar to pricking an inflated balloon. The explosion would engulf the entire solar system as a supernova." Nora informed all within ear shot very matter of factually.

"I'm so _**stupid!**_ If that would have happened on Earth-!" Jenny pounded her left fist into her right palm.

"You were in a highly emotional state. According to my research, these type's of power systems are directly related to the emotional status of the individual using them. You weren't thinking clearly..." Nora's words offered little comfort to her daughter.

"Well that's just _**great!**_ If the Earth had explode then, _**technically**_,__I wasn't at fault!" Jennifer threw her hands up in defeat. Sensing her sister's guilt, XJ-8 approached her sister.

"I didn't get the chance to vocalize earlier, I just wanted to tell you how much I_**...Processing...**_Love you and how happy I am you are active and running efficiently. Your new chassis is_**...Processing...**_Lovely." Jenny starred at her sister with a bewildered expression.

"Th-thanks XJ-8. I-I love you too..." Jennifer was not expecting such an exchange and thus was at a lose for words.

** "ALERT! ALERT! INTRUDER DETECTED!" **The intercom system rang out loud and clear. Nora checked her security cameras.

"Ugh...It's Mogg...And Dale." With a few quick keystrokes, Nora deactivated her defenses. The two entered the lab a moment later.

Howdy Nora, sorry for the intrusion but I didn't have time to phone ahead." Dale stated as he burst in through the door, "Nice hole, it really lightens the place up." He sarcastically commented on her damaged lab. Nora ignored the sarcastic remark. Instead, she focused her gaze on Mogg.

"Why Nora, you certainly have an..._**A**__**dequate**_...Area...For an intern..." He commented, lowering his tone to a barely audible one as he spoke his last words, though everyone still heard.

"Always a pleasure Mogg." Nora retorted, "Your late." She said flatly to Dale.

"So of us have a world to save." He shot back, "YK-9's on the way. The Voyager 5 satellite has been destroyed. The Hive was defiantly behind the hacking and that's not all, I just got word from Brad that an asteroid the size of New _**fucking**_ York in the Main belt disappeared and reappeared on the dark side of the moon. The NASA eggheads confirmed could mean only one thing, the Hive's making their move and you have their key player in custody." Everyone gave the container a glance, "We need to act _**fast**_, Mogg thinks that if we dismantle DV-2's cortex-"

_**"NO!" **_Jennifer interrupted, "He hasn't done anything wrong really! Mom we can't just-just tear him apart!" She pleaded.

"_**Sigh...**_Well, what _**do**_ you suggest?" Mogg looked towards Nora, "Surely you have a plan, you always seemed to have a plan...weather it was a good one or not..." Nora squinted her eyes at her rival because of his verbal assault and challenge.

"It would take _**far**_ to long to translate any information we gained to be helpful...Dismantling DV-2 would do little more than deprive us of a valuable asset. With the satellite destroyed, there is no means by which the Hive can contact him." She glances towards XJ-8, "I have reason to believe that if we can manage to bring him back online, he would be valuable in the coming events and willingly help." Mogg was about to interject with a protest, but was cut of by Dale.

"Good enough for me. If you say he's worth keeping around then I trust you. Question is, how do we get him back operating?" Dale asked.

"I've done all I can. _**Physically**_ everything is operating within normal parameters. The operating system itself is _**refusing**_ to run normally." Nora sighed, "The only thing that comes to mind-"

"Is to _**upload**_ a program into his C.P.U. that could find and isolate his main operational codes and _**directly**_ divert them back into the proper areas of his C.P.U, causing his systems to force start at their normal capacities." Mogg stated professionally, "But you don't have such a program, _**do you**_ Nora?" Nora gave Mogg an icy stare again.

"...No. _**No one**_ does. A program _**that**_ complex would require an intelligent learning annex that could comprehend the relatively unknown realm of the human, or robotic, mind. It would basically be like uploading another consciousness into his mind..." Nora thought out the entire sequence in her mind, "A program familiar with his _**unique**_ OS..." Nora folded her arms and starred off into the distance, "It would shorten the entire venture _**dramatically**_ using a program that already knew exactly what it was looking for..." She turned towards her daughter and everyone else did as well. Jenny nervously darted her eyes around the room at all the people starring at her, "Oh you _**gotta**_ be..._**sigh**_..._**Fine.**_ What do I need to do?"

**The Dark Side of The Moon**

"Dimensional teleportation was successful. We are in place my Queen." Smytus informed.

"_**Excellent!**_ I can now move this entire space craft through my dimensional rifts with ease." Vexes smiled to herself upon her throne, " Are the XJ-Nightmares ready?"

"Fully charged and ready to deploy at you command." Smytus gleefully replied, "What of commander Scorn?" He asked. Vexes crossed her legs and a mischievous grin appeared on her face plate. She brought a finger to her lips and wiped away a small drop of unknown liquid.

"He is ready, willing, and able to handle the tasks ahead..." She replied, "Its time...Open the hatch." Smytus followed his orders. After a few button presses, a small door opened above her seat. Vexes hovered to the opening and took a split second to admire the moon from the doorway before leaping from her ship. She impacted with enough force to carve out a massive mile wide crater on the lunar surface. Large, deep fissures stretched out from the hole she created.

"Careful my Queen. You moved the Moon out of orbit by 0.67999994569 Earth kilometers." Smytus commented through their internal com link. She could tell by his voice that he was smiling.

"Not to worry, the humans wont survive the 566786 Earth cycles it will take before it collides with their planet. I do have to watch my new strength." She smugly replied, "Time for Jennifer's birthday present..." Dust began to rise and swirl around Vexes as she smiled. Large chunks of the Moon began to break away from it's surface as she raised her arms out to her sides. The debris forming a tornado around her. Smytus felt the ship begin to shake.

"I'm backing off to a safe distance before things get to out of control." The ship departed, flying a few hundred miles away to a safe distance. Vexes bellowed a joyous war cry into the silent void, a blood red aura materialized around her body and the moon began to quake violently.

**Back in the Lab**

"Are all these _**damn**_ wires _**really**_ necessary?" Jennifer questioned in annoyance from her seat, crossing her arms as she did. The rear section of her head housing was removed. A plethora of wires, cables and hoses connected her to Axle and in-turn to her mother's diagnostics equipment.

"Only if you want to _**safely**_ and _**successfully**_ complete this mission." Nora responded, "And I want to monitor your condition during the entire process." Nora explained while typing incredibly fast on her computer.

"And what the _**hell**_ is that _**thing**_ your puffing on? I'm detecting _**a**_ _**lot**_ of toxic chemicals..." Jenny folded her arms.

"It's called a cigarette. An old and outlawed way of relieving stress. May I?" Dale asked to partake. Nora generously gave him one. After a quick lite and inhale, Dale exhaled with obvious relief, "Damn it's been to long. Stupid United Nations..."

"_**AHEM! **_If I may interject, we have a mission to complete and all this _**drabble**_ is _**wasting**_ precious time!" Mogg informed.

"Done." Nora stopped her typing, "Jennifer? Are you prepared?" Nora asked.

"Mama didn't raise no chickens!" She replied with a smile, "Ready to deploy." She signaled with a thumbs up. A tap of the enter key and Jennifer's optics immediately blinked to static. Everyone could only wait and hope. Jennifer's vision went black for a split second, then exploded into a kaleidoscopic tunnel with what seemed to be a wall of light hurdling towards her at a break neck pace from the far end. Just as she was about to throw up her arms as an instinctive reflex, the virtual world she was perceiving snapped back into the familiar white void. She felt her feet touch down on a surface. The same ticklish feeling she had felt the last time except, with a cool sensation and slight sort of poke of sorts along with it. As the world around her materialized, she noticed she was standing in a field of grass. A slight breeze blew the blades gently. She scanned her surroundings, the results indicated that she was on a one acre by one acre section of land that seemed to be floating slightly above an endless sea of white clouds. The sky's above her appeared as the most beautiful blue she could ever imagine. Jenny scanned around and saw a single tree in the distance, it's branches bare of leaves. Upon closer inspection, she seen a humanoid figure sitting under it's boughs. She took a step in it's direction. She stopped as her right foot entered her line of sight. It was a peach color, with strange little protrusions, "Toes..." Jenny whispered to herself. The little digit's nails were painted blue. Upon, further inspection, she discovered she was wearing her usual attire. She grabbed one of her pigtails and pulled the locks into view, "Blue, figures.." She wished she had more time to admire her humanoid form but, continued towards Axle. As she got closer to him, each step she took activated a split second of the latent memory she unlocked inside his C.P.U. Brief flashes of the terrible things he and his "mother" Vexes had done on Cluster Prime. Images of innocent robots being melted slowly for her amusement, while Axle looked on them with a cold unchanging expression. When she reached him, she noticed he was sitting on the edge of the virtual world, overlooking the clouds. His appearance reflected his appearance before he lost his synthetic skin. This time, it was her that placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey I...I came for you. We-" Jenny began but, was cut off.

"You shouldn't be here..." He gravely interrupted, "You know I'm a monster...What I've done..." He continued starring out at the clouds.

"Your right, our minds are connected right now...I know everything." Jenny sighed, "You should know that I have destroyed countless ro-" Axle interrupted again.

"An entire _**planet**_ full?" He asked, "I destroyed a planet for Vexes's amusement and...I didn't feel a thing..." Jennifer placed her other hand on his shoulder.

"No, maybe not that many, but I know it wasn't your fault." She comforted him in her normal voice then, changed to speaking from her mind, which caused it to echo all around, omnipresently, "I've seen your files, I've read your mind...I know the real you...The person I feel so connected to."

"Vega was a friend of yours. I was there when Vexes deactivated her..." Axle pulled a few blades of grass out of the ground and tossed them over the edge. Jenny watched as they fell to the clouds, turned into binary and dissipated, "The only reason I was built was to be tool for her revenge. First against the planet that turned it's back on her, then Vega and _**you**_. She had some pretty gruesome ideas about destroying your reputation, your relationship with Brad..._**Killing**_ your mom and then every organic thing left on the damned planet." He looked back out across the clouds, "I was _**purposely**_ created to get to _**you**_. I was_** programmed**_ to be attracted to you...To make you fall for me...To make you careless...To steal all your secrets...I'm just a useless shell, a tool for her plans. I should be shutdown before she can use me to harm the life of this planet..."

"Help us. You don't have to be that monster DV-2 anymore. You can chose to be better than your programming..." She knelled down and wrapped her arms softly around his neck, "I've spent my whole life doing it. I don't know how to control this new power and, chances are, Vexes is a lot stronger than me since your a prototype." Sharing their minds again made the connection stronger than ever, "I can't say weather or not what we feel is all just_** programming**_ and _**circumstance**_, but I know what I feel. I thought it was love but it's something else...Like..._**Passion**_." She reasoned while resting the side of her face against his.

"It's all just part of her plan..." Axle replied, standing and breaking her embrace, "I _**can't**_ let her use me anymore. I _**wont**_ let her use me to hurt you!" He glanced over his shoulder at her, "I...I will always regret not getting a kiss from you...Goodbye." Axle looked back at he open sky and leaped off the edge. Jennifer panicked for a second then dove off the cliff after him. She caught him in her arms just before he hit the clouds. She flew them back to the island and tossed him to the ground.

_**"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" **_She shouted in anger, "Your just going to _**give up?**_ _**Delete your self?**_" Axle starred at the ground as Jenny scolded him, "If your not even going to try then I'm not either." Her emotions began to fluctuate and the grass around her began to turn brown and wilt, "You _**can't**_ run from your past, it will always be apart of you, but you _**can**_ atone for your sins." She began to shake as she clenched her fists, "Your pathetic! I should just leave you here!"

**Back in the lab**

"What's all that racket?" Dale asked. Nora's equipment was going haywire.

"Oh no...It seems that, for some reason, she's losing her temper." She looked over at her daughter's body, her eyes were still glazed over by static, her face had a slighty angered expression and she was shaking, "This is not good. Her temperature is rising and she is putting off low levels of radiation. If she doesn't get a hold of herself, she could accidentally kill all of us." The group glanced around at each other nervously.

"I need a fucking drink..." Dale commented as he headed to Nora's kitchen. The faint sound of a cell phone ringing could be heard as he walked up the stairs.

**Axle's C.P.U.**

"Jenny you have to calm down!" Axle tried to calm her.

"_**NO!**_ You make me _**sick!**_ You know what? Go. Go ahead and jump off the cliff. We don't need you anyway!" She shoved him.

"Jenny, your body is going to start emitting heat and radiation if you don't calm down!" Axle exclaimed. The information shocked her, but she couldn't seem calm down, which only seemed to frustrate her further.

"How then, huh? Tell me now!" She shouted. Axle grabbed her by the arms and kissed her deeply. Her eyes opened wide in shock, then closed and she reciprocated the action. Immediately, her temper fell. She pulled away from him and looked him right in the eyes, her expression a a mixture of anger, longing, longing, and lust, "You son of a bitch..." She spat at him.

**Back in the lab**

"She's calming down. Radiation and temperature are dipping below dangerous levels but still high. Odd..." Nora examined the computer data closely, "The levels are higher than normal operating conditions and holding...I just wish I could see whats going on in there..." Mogg approached her from behind, leaning in over her right shoulder to observe the data for himself.

"Hhhhmmmm...Interesting. There seems to be a rhythmic fluctuation to her radiation level every 1.3679 seconds..." Mogg noted, "Almost imperceptible."

"Why would her energies be fluctuating? And why in such a specific pattern?" Nora and Mogg contemplated the possibilities. XJ-8 approached from behind. She read the data on the monitor, then looked over at her sister's body.

_**"Brown chicken brown cow!"**_ She exclaimed. Everyone turned to XJ-8 to see why she was malfunctioning, until they saw Jennifer. Her body was rocking back and forth in tune with the energy fluctuations. Her mouth hung open slightly and her cheeks held a blue tint. Everyone immediately knew what was happening. Nora began rubbing her head with her hands.

"Uh, well, at least the energy levels are stable." Melody chimed in.

"_**COUGH**_...How about we check the status of DV-2? Perhaps he has begun to restart?" Mogg tried to divert Nora's mind away from what was happening.

"Yes...well, let's check." Her tone said everything. A progress bar appeared on her screen showing 42%. data indicated that progress was directly related to the rhythmic fluctuations. She took a long drag of her cigarette, "I need a fucking drink..." At that moment, they could hear yelling coming from upstairs. Dale came running down, nearly falling, before entering the lab

"I just got off the phone with Brad! Its all over the news...Guys, I don't how else to say this, the Moon...Its melting." The expression on his face told them the seriousness of the situation, "Hubble satellite images confirm it, hell walk outside! You can feel the heat. I can't even begin to speculate about the amount of power it would take to do this." He turned towards Melody, "M..." She knew what he meant without anymore words.

"Right! I'm on it!" She replied while retracting her outer skin and uniform. She activated her flight system and disappeared through the hole in the roof of Nora's lab.

"Mogg, I'm rerouting YK-9 to the Moon until Melody arrives." Dale ordered. Mogg's expression turned sad.

"Yes, well that is the logical thing to do. He is the closes to the Moon." Mogg responded.

"Nora, whats the status?" Dale questioned. She glanced up at the progress bar.

"83% another minutes or so and they will be back on line." She replied.

"Damn it! We need them asap! Melody and YK-9 can't produce that much power together!" Dale said. Before another word could be spoken, Nora's random threat indicator went off. She quickly ran to the mechine and began hitting all manner of buttons on the device.

"Shit, things are about to get much worse. My detection grid is showing two hundred plus objects entering the atmosphere! They seem to be appearing in space around the Moon. They're heading to all parts of the Earth." Nora informed.

"I'll rig up a video feed of YK-9's visual systems on a spare computer." Mogg went to work right away on the video feed.

"Nora we need those two _**now!**_" Dale exclaimed.

**Space**

If space could carry sound, it would be filled with laughter and horrific screams. Vexes hurled massive chunks of molten Moon rock towards the Earths satellites while the XJ-Nightmares streaked through the atmosphere. Their coal black bodies tinted a lite blood red with the heat of re-entry. Cackling madly with their claws bared, ready to rend the flesh of the soft vertebrates below. A global plan of action had been created after the last invasion. Armies around the world gathered in their capital cities to protect their leaders in accordance with the global agreement. Sonic booms thundered across the Earth. Nervous battalions from every nations faced the clouds. They listened and nervously glanced around at each other, not sure if their ears were telling their brains the truth. The sounds of young girls laughing in the distance. Suddenly, the clouds burst apart and the childish laughter turned to viscous, maddening artificial vocal noises. Howls, screams, and laughter at an eardrum splitting decibel. The terrible androids plowed into the platoons mercilessly. Around the world, the dust clears from the craters of impact. Red eyes beamed through the dissipating dust. Malevolent, razor tooth smiles stretched across the cold, black faces of the robots. The cry heard around the world. The commanders gave the signals and the infantry units charged and began firing. The battle for the Earth had begun.

"The units are in place. Deploying Scorn." Smytus declared.

"And so the end begins." Vexes replied. Suddenly, a laser beam struck the Queen from behind, causing her to lean forward.

"Vexes! Impact detected! Are you damaged?" Smytus asked concerned. Vexes smiled.

"Quite alright. Just a little hiccup. I'll contact you when I'm done here." She killed the com link between her and Smytus and hailed YK-9, "Well, well, well. Kenny, right? Come to beg for your life?"

"No way man! I'm about to take you out!" Kenny replied while pounding his fists together and landing on the Moon. Vexes looked upon him with amusement, Scanning his chassis, noticing that the heat from the Moon was slowly turning him red.

"Bold words from such an _**out dated**_ design. Don't get cocky just because you destroyed one little'ol satellite." She taughted.

"Enough talk! Your going down!" Kenny charged the iron maiden, transforming his hand into a battle ax. Vexes didn't even try to dodge the attack. She crossed her arms and smiled. He swung with all his might, the weapon struck her abdomen. A massive plum of fire blasted off the side of the Moon from the force. The ax shattered on impact and Vexes laughed.

"Why don't we cut to the chase? I know you're equipped with_** Mogg's**_ version of Dr. Locust's power system. That _**fool**_ actually thought he could recreate the Starbirth power system...Only _**Wakeman**_ could ever complete such a feat..." Vexes dropped here arms to her sides, "I am curious...Active the power core. You don't stand a chance without it anyway and you know it..." Kenny clenched his fists, "Let's see just how well _**his**_ technology compares to mine." If he could sweat, he would have been. She was right and he knew it. He activated his core. Purple energy exploded round him. Molten rock swirled around him. The nuclear energies engulfing the Moon was pushed away, leaving a small circle for him to stand in as his energy keep it from touching him, "Impressive, yet futile." With a swipe of her hand, she sent a wave of molten rock and red energy at him. Kenny threw his arms up in defense and allowed the attack to hit. On impact, he flung his arms back apart, dispersing the attack in all directions. He focused his optics at where she had been standing to see nothing. His detection systems went haywire telling him something was right above him. He quickly looked up to see a massive red beam of energy heading straight at him. It took everything he had to avoid the beam but, he was still caught in the resulting blast. The explosion could be seen from Earth. The shock wave cracked and dented his armor and flung him across the Moons surface, until he slid to a stop on the red hot rock, "Oh, my...That looked damaging...Are you all right?" Vexes cooed as she hovered high above.

"Th-That all you got?" Kenny said as he rose to his feet. He charged energy into his body. Vexes just watched the scene play out. He thrust his hands out in front of him and released the energy as a beam at the evil Queen. She easily batted the attack away into space. Using the momentary distraction, he released a barrage of missiles at her, hidden behind the energy beam. Vexes didn't notice the sneak attack until the last second. Her mind processed the attack incredibly fast, batting away those closes and firing small beams from her eyes to destroy the others. She barley managed to destroy all, save for one. The missed missile explosion was powerful, hitting her square in the breast and pushing her further out into space. Kenny smiled to himself with the small victory. Vexes activated her flight stabilizing systems and stopped herself. She peered down at Kenny with a frown.

"Well...I seem to have _**slightly **_underestimated you..." Her tone clearly indicated a level of aggravation, "Now it's time to see what _**your**_ really made of, better yet..." Her smile returned, "I'll _**show**_ _**you**_ what your made of!" She bared her claws and slashed the empty space in-front of her. A kaleidoscopic hole opened up in space and she disappeared into it. Kenny swallowed hard unnecessarily as he glanced, for a split second, at the Earth in the distance.

_ "Dad, I hope you got a plan..." _Kenny thought to himself.

**Back in the lab**

Tension mounted as the group anxiously awaited for Jenny and Axle to reactivate. They were all on edge. Mogg kept the emotions forced out of his mind as he work hastily on the video connection. Nora nervously drummed her fingers on her desk, her eyes never leaving the progress bar on the computer screen. 95% displayed across the monitor. Dale regularly checked in with Brad on Melody's location and status. It was reported on the news that two hostile units had landed eighty miles outside of town with more objects detected entering the atmosphere. Nora abruptly stopped her drumming. Dale knew something was up as he looked at her, "After much deliberation...I've come to a decision. I'm going to reactivate the rest of the XJ's" She said.

"I thought you decommissioned them for good?" Mogg questioned.

"No. That's just what I told Skyway to keep them satisfied." Nora stated. Dale starred at her.

"I knew you had something up your sleeve." He grinned.

"_**Hooray!**_ I can't wait to see my sister units again!" XJ-8 exclaimed.

"We're going to need all the help we can get. I have a stash of golden chips I procured from the damaged droids of the last war. They may not be enough but, they will increase their power out put and transformation abilities dramatically." She began entering commands into her computer. Everyone turned to a false wall at the back of her lab that slid open and revealed her remaining sleeping, mechanical children. One by one, lights in the shape of the models number and appropriate color lite up above their heads. The hum of activation could be heard as the start up procedure began.

**High in the Earth's atmosphere**

"I know Brad...I promise I'll be careful." Melody spoke through her com-link.

"I'm serious Mel! I..I don't wont to lose you too..." Brad's voice carried the weight concern.

"You kidding? I'm a super powerful robot girl! There's nothing to worry about." Melody said confidently, masking her fear and reassuring Brad, "I have to go I'm almost at the Moon. I don't wont anyone tracing the signal."

"OK...Mel? Promise me you'll be back." Brads voice trembled on the last words. Melody's face turned to a sadly blank stare. She took a split moment to calculate all the possible situations, and their out comes, before replying.

"I will Brad. I promise." She immediately disconnected the communication link. She could feel the intense heat emanating off the Moon. She slowed her self down and descended to the charred surface. A momentary scan revealed Kenny's location,_** "KENNY!"**_ She yelled. He was staggering to his feet. His body was covered by claw marks and dents. His left arm hung loosely at the elbow, wires protruding from the joint. His energy level had fallen down to low to push away the intense heat. White hot metal droplets floated away from various parts of his body, his left optic lens hung from its socket. Melody flew to his side, "Oh my god Kenny!"

"H-hey Melody...Fancy see_***zzzz***_ you hear..." He spat out.

"Where is she?" Melody asked with rage.

"Moving to fast...Some *_**zzzzzz***_ of teleportation..." Kenny warned, "She's to strong..."

"Conserve your energy. I'll handle it from here." As the words left her mouth, a colorful rip in space opened in-front of her. Vexes calmly stepped out wearing her smile.

"Why hello Melody! How's your father these days?"


	9. Tidal Shift

**CHAPTER IX**

**Shifting Tides**

_** "It's been said, that there is nothing more dangerous than a cornered animal. I humbly disagree, there is nothing more dangerous than a sane person, sound in there convictions, with nothing to lose."**_

_** R.D.M.**_

**Inside Axle's C.P.U.**

"So...I take it you wont be deleting yourself?" Jennifer questioned. Her eyes closed as her virtual form drifted lazily through the endless, space like white void. Axle smiled to himself.

"...No, it seems we need each other more than we thought.." Axle replied. He stood on a piece of invisible data acting as a firm foothold.

"I'm...starting to feel a large energy signature. Your detection systems must be powering on." Jenny noted.

"Yeah, I sense it to...It's off the chart and judging by the trajectory, it's coming from your Moon." said Axle, "It's Vexes, I can feel it in my oil...This isn't going to be easy. You probable should head back to your own body." Axle suggested, though he really didn't want her to leave, "I need to finish booting up." Jennifer lost her happy expression.

"OK, but when this is over...You owe me a can of oil." Jenny suggested in her on special way of also demanding. Axle frowned a bit.

"Deal." He reluctantly replied, unsure of the near future.

"See you on the battle field." Jenny's body turned into blue light then dispersed in a cloud of binary. Axle also began to fade away as his systems booted up.

"Mother...I'm coming home..." He spoke as his form disappeared completely.

**Tokyo Japan**

_**"DO NOT LET THE METAL DEMONS WAIVER YOUR FOCUS!"**_ A rather odd robot tried to steel his fellow troops nerve, "The Samurai of legend _**never**_ feared an enemy and _**never**_ faltered! Even in the face of death!" The self aware Samurai brand vacuum unsheathed it's sword, "Feel the strength of your ancestors! Harness the power of your Samurai past and destroy these _**foul beasts!**_" He turned from his battle ready division, aiming his weapon at the approaching enemy. In the distance, the thick dust clouds from the impacts slowly dissipated, dragged grain by grain away on the wind, peeling back the shroud and allowing the foe's to gaze more efficiently on one another. The full brunt of fear descended on the human army, along with the blood red eyes of the metal demons, scanning their vital signs, searching for a weakness. The Samurai vacuum sensed the rising tide of fear in his fellow troops, and with a well timed battle cry, **"CHHHAAARRRGGGE!"** The dam of fear burst and adrenalin overwhelmed self doubt. The will of greater good overwhelmed the individualized, self preservating programming inherent to all humans. As the distance between yin and yang waned, Vacu-san's eyes could see the dark cold face of his enemy illuminated by the arms fire filling the rest of his senses, and he see's the razor toothed smiles and he hears the ping of deflecting gun fire ricocheting off into the distance. Thick metallic clacks rang out as the Nightmares extended their talons. Steel met with steel in a explosion of red and white sparks as Vacu-san's sword slammed against the demon's thick hide. Fear, the emotion he trained so hard to control, slowly crept from the shadows of his C.P.U. Not even the ways of the Samurai could stop all the red splash's from hitting the ground around him. Before he could process the full brunt force of futility, a swift elbow shatter's his C.P.U. housing, deactivating the synthetic Samurai.

**Nora's Lab**

"Their back online!" Nora exclaimed. Jenny's optics returned to normal. Nora ran to her daughter and embraced her, while Jenny pulled at the various connections in the back of her C.P.U.

"Whoa, Mom. I'm fine..." Jenny returned the embrace, "So is Axle. We're going to take care of everything now." She smiled down at her frail human mother. Nora, despite the events taking place around the world and space, couldn't help but feel as though her daughter was right. Maybe it was the extra reassurance her now more mature face naturally produced but, her mind felt eased non the less.

"Jennifer...Things are dire. As I speak, war is raging across the Earth! Millions of lives are at stake...You must help them!" Nora more asked than commanded. The entire room looked on, waiting to here her intended course of action. Jennifer calculated all the information from various radio, television, and working satellite signals together and made her decision.

"Mom...I have to go to the Moon with Axle. We have to stop the source, we have to stop Vexes. If we don't, she's going to destroy the Moon. She's the one controlling everything." She softly pushed her Mother away to arms length and looked at her with a very serious and sad expression, "We have to cut the head off the snake. I know you don't want me to go face her but...It's the right thing to do. It's what I was built for..." She gave her mother a smile, "Besides, the rest of the XJ's can handle things here." With the sound of Axle activating and sitting up right in the background, Nora smiled back. She smiled at her daughter's mature approach to the situation, going far beyond what her original programming ever intended.

"I know dear. Just-just promise me that you'll come back in one piece?" Nora asked. Jennifer forced a smile but, it was a smile non the less.

"I promise I'll do my best." Jenny offered, not wanting to perpetrate a lie.

"You two better get goin', if your gonna save the freakin' world." Dale slurred through the bottom of an empty glass. Axle stood up, despite his tattered clothes, battle ready. His artificial eyes glanced at Jennifer, their fierce gaze signaled that to each other it was time.

"OK...Your sisters will be online shortly. I am certain that they will be efficient at protecting the Earth in your absences." Nora said.

"Don't worry sis' I got your back!" XJ-8 exclaimed.

Jenny smiled, "I wish I had time to see them all as they activated but I have to go...I love you goodbye mom!" Jenny took flight and exited through the holes in Nora's house after her final words to her mother. Nora glanced at Axle, who gave her a slight nod and disappeared as well.

"Well, nothing to do now but wait..." Dale pointed out. Nora just quietly smiled to herself.

_ "I love you too dear...More than anything." _She thought.

_**"Eureka!"**_ Mogg shouted from under a computer station, banging his head on the underside of the desk as he did. He crawled out from under the table rubbing his head, "I've finished rewiring your surveillance system to correspond to YK-9's frequency!" He took a seat at the computer he had been working on, "Now it should just be a matter of finding his signal...And we should be able to see through his eyes and gather data on his current status..." A few keystrokes granted them a rather grainy video stream, a few quick and hardy smacks against the monitor gave them crystal clear, live video stream through YK-9's optics on the surface of the Moon. The angle appeared to be perpendicular to the Moon's surface, with the mad Queen standing just a short distance away. Though, they could crisply see the oil dripping from the smiling witch's talons, not an utter of sound could be heard. It seems that truly, in space, no one can hear you scream. The fact made more clear by the sight of Melody on her knees before Vexes, clutching her abdomen. Judging by the her face, they all could tell she was in pain. Mogg grabbed his hair in frustration, **"YK-9!"**

"Power at 29%, multiple hull breaches...Temperature nearing melting point...He has entered self preservation mode and engaged critical data protection sequences. Sealing his essence off in an emergency hard drive...It can still be saved but, his energy supply will completely run out soon! If that happens-" Nora was cut off.

"His memory stacks...They'll be erased. He wont remember anything, he wont remember...Me..." Nora watched an emotion wash across Mogg's face. One that shifted her perception of her rival, somewhat.

"They'll get there in time. Jenny will save him." She laid a comforting hand on his hunched back. Mogg barely heard her as he watch the energy reading drop to 28%.

"I'm...I'm activated!" Everyone in the room turned towards the XJ's station, "What the hell is going on!" XJ-6 exclaimed.

"Oh! Man! I was having the best dream! All you guys where there!" XJ-5 commented.

"Wow...I was sure I would never be active again..." XJ-7 groaned.

_** "Just look at us!"**_ XJ-4 extended her hand to a surprised XJ-6's monitor face and wiped a streak through the thick dust, _**"Weeeeeeerrrrr'er filthy!"**_ XJ-3 glanced around her dust covered chassis. XJ-2 hiccuped, shooting Dale's whiskey bottle.

"Suna'va-" Dale protested in the background but, was interrupted by a heavily digitized baby cry from XJ-1.

_**"Sister Units!"**_ XJ-8 exclaimed as she grabbed them all in a metal crushing hug.

"There is no time for pleasantries I'm afraid. You all must be outfitted with golden chips and dispatched immediately! The Earth is counting on you!" Nora spoke.

"And _**why**_ should we help you? Your just going to shut us down again when this is all over!" XJ-6 folded her arms and turned her back to her creator. The other XJ's processed her words for a moment, then one by one, they lowered their heads and turned their backs as well.

"No one even cares we exist..." XJ-7 added. Nora took in a deep ragged breath and braced herself to speak.

"I know you think no one cares about you and to an extent...You are right. I'll even admit that I could, at one point, have been counted amongst them..." Nora lowered her head, "When the time came that I had to decommission all of you...I could not bring myself to do it. Instead, I decided to create a virtual world that would keep your memory banks activated and preserved. I am truly sorry...You have every right to be angry with me." Nora looked upon them all, a seriousness in her eyes, "If you chose to help us, then I will give you my word, that you will remain activated when this ordeal is over." Nora tried to convince her daughters of her sincerity.

"You didn't even dust us off..." XJ-4 commented over her shoulder.

"I'm terribly sorry for what I've done to you." Nora responded.

"Sisters units...It is our duty as G.R.R.U. to protect the Earth. Mother has wronged us, but she has changed. She has promised us all new designs along with our freedom." XJ-8 shot her a glance, Nora gulped, "We can be a_**...processing...**_Family." Nora watched as the stead fast stature of her creations slowly relax.

"A new body would be OK I guess..." XJ-7 said.

"I want a Teflon coating to keep dirt from clinging to my body!" XJ-4 happily exclaimed. XJ-8 rotated her head to face her mother. Nora jut shook her head.

"Very well, Teflon it is. Now please, you _**must**_ install the golden chips! You'll need all the help you can get..." Nora typed a command on her keyboard. A picture on the side wall hinged away, revealing a safe door, "All you have to do is open you breast plate and place the chip next to your power supply." She spoke while entering the safe combination. A golden glow illuminated the room as the door swung open, "They really are amazing pieces of technology..." One by one she handed a chip to her creations, "The chips will detect your power systems and connect with them." Once equipped, your transformation abilities will be greatly increased along, with your power output." The XJ's simultaneously opened their chests and placed the chips in, "According to the information we have, the enemy robots are modified after XJ-9. I don't need to tell you to be careful."

"Wow! My power system _**is**_ increasing!" XJ-6 noted.

"Yeah, mine to! We'll clean their clocks for sure!" XJ-4 exclaimed.

"I'm sending all of you _**separate**_ coordinates to the areas with the heaviest concentration of enemy units. XJ's 1 and 2 will remain here." Nora said, "You all must leave immediately." She type in another command on her keyboard.

"It would be best for them to stay behind." XJ-8 stated, "Coordinates received, goodbye Mother." XJ-8 launched through the hole in Nora's lab.

"You better not be _**lying**_ to us Mother!" XJ-6 shouted.

"Can I have legs?" XJ-7 asked.

"I promise to sit down with each of you and discuss your new deigns." She gave them a smile. One by one, the XJ's shot off to their respective locations.

"So...Do you really think they can do it?" Dale questioned. Nora drew in a deep breath.

"I pray they can..."

**Space**

Jennifer set up a com link with Axle as soon as they left the atmosphere. The two could hardly believe their optic sensors when they scanned the Moon. A quarter of it's surface was burning a dull red. The energy Vexes was producing was slowly spreading across the surface, turning it into a molten wasteland. Jenny cringed a little as they flew past the shattered remains of the international space station. Zooming in, she could see a few bodies floating within the debris, "Heads up!" Axle warned, causing Jenny to snap her vision back forward. An SUV sized piece of the Moon was headed straight for her. With a quick process, she changed her left hand into a buzz-saw and sliced the thing in half, "My sensors are going haywire! There's Earth bound objects everywhere!" Axle exclaimed. Another inbound object caught her attention. Upon a closer scan, she could see a familiar figure inside the ball of fire streaking passed her.

_ "It can't be-!" _Her thought process was cut off by another object slamming into her. She regained her focus and looked on in horror at the face that looked back at her, _**"N-No!"**_ The coal black face and glowing red eyes starring back at her held a wealth of pure hate and were all to familiar. She could feel her temperature rise. The thing lunged at her again with it's talons aimed at her main oil tube. Jenny easily caught the hand and crushed it while gritting her teeth. A quick scan revealed it's central power supply location. She detached her buzz-saw and reformed her fist. Blue electricity sparked around her hand as she rammed it straight through the robots power core and simultaneously blew out the back of it's head with a blast of her eye lasers through it's optics, "That bitch is _**dead!**_ How _**dare**_ she copy my designs!" She shouted through the com link as she violently shook the deactivated robot off her arm.

"I'm detecting another 30 objects heading this way. If we fight them all we might not make it to the Moon in time!" Axle exclaimed. It was then he noticed Jenny's rising power level.

_**"Oh yes we will!"**_ She kicked her power output up to 50%. The blue electricity sparking around her arm expanded to her entire body and an orange aura surrounded her. With only seconds before the soulless beasts bared down on them, She calculated their projected path. She then moved her arms at an eye blurring speed, firing orange beams of energy from the palms of her hands. The XJ-Nightmares could not react quickly enough. The impact was enough to smash them into piece with the force and melt it's way through the remains, "According to their trajectory-!"

"I got it!" Axle said, reading her sensory information, "I see you have a lot better control this time." He smiled. Jenny smirked back.

"Yeah. If Vexes is on the Moon, then that must be where Smytus is." She stated as she rocketed onwards to her target, "If nothing else, I'll keep her busy while you deal with him. With her full attention on me, Melody can escape with Kenny."

"Solid plan. Smytus shouldn't be a problem. I'll meet back up with you when I'm done and we'll end this." Axle broke from there flight path and headed towards an asteroid only a few hundred miles from the Moon. He had to use quick maneuvers to avoid the many Moon rocks hurdling at him. As soon as he exited the debris field, he was bombarded by laser fire, _"He's definitely in there." _Axle bumped his power up to 20% and pulled back his right hand into a tight fist, preparing to strike with full force but, before he reached the camouflaged ship, he crashed into an invisible field, causing him to smash to a halt, _"OK...Should have seen that..."_

_**"HAHAHAHAHA!**_ Welcome home DV-2!" A radio transmission erupted inside his mind, "We've been expecting you... " The voice was thick with malevolent satisfaction.

"_**Smytus!**_ How did you get my frequency?" Axle demanded.

"Oh, I know everything about you DV-2...After all...I _**BUILT **_you!_** HAHAHAHAHA!" **_The words stung. Axle pounded his fist against the force field.

_**"Coward! Come out here and face me!" **_Axle demanded.

"I'm quiet comfortable in here..." Smytus prodded, "I do, however, have some _**friends**_ that want to play!" Smytus opened the cargo-bay doors and released a battalion of XJ-Nightmare's,_** "Play nice my children!"**_ Axle fired yellow lasers from his optics at robots as they closed in. The Nightmares dodged most, others were struck in various areas, blowing holes in their armor. The first one reached him, a round house kick to the head ripped it's jaw off. Unfazed, the evil machine turned back slowly and starred directly into Axle's optics as oil floated out of the exposed oil tubes. In his distraction, two more robots grabbed his arms and pulled them apart, trying to rip them off. The damaged bot in-front of him transformed it's right arm into a long spike.

_ "Yikes!" _Axle cranked the power up to 30%. A light orange aura appeared around him. He slammed his arms together quickly, smashing the three robots together and destroying them, **"WARNING: CONTAINMENT FIELD DAMAGED. DO NOT EXCEED 63%" **The words flashed across his H.U.D., _"Damn it! The repair's not going to hold...I can still take care of these things though." _The remaining Nightmares closed in. A swift dodge followed by an elbow jammed one's head through it's shoulders and into it's chest cavity. Axle slammed his hand, open palmed through another chest, shoving it's oil pump out of the back of it's chassis. He spun to defend himself from the rest only to see them hovering some distance away, _"What the hell are they doing?" _

"Heh...heh...heh...My XJ-Nightmares can adapt to _**any**_ fighting style and develop counter measure!" Smytus gloated. Axle glanced in his direction and noticed that the ship had backed away a few miles in the commotion.

_ "Adapt to my fighting style?" _Before Axle could process Smytus's words any further, the remaining robots transformed their arms into Gatling guns and opened fire. Axle activated his energy shield just in time to stop the hail of red energy bullets, _"That's what he meant. They know they can't win in hand to hand combat so their using coordinated long range attacks..." _The shield around him began to crack, _"Two can play that game..." _He bumped his power up to 40%. The shield repaired itself. He processed all the different trajectories and opened a small hole in his shield. He fired an intense beam of energy from his optics. The beam struck one Nightmare and punched through it's armor, scoring a direct hit to it's power core. The robot exploded, the rest stopped firing. Axle used this opportunity to destroy two more before they scattered in all directions, _"A lot like shooting fish in a barrel at this level." _At his current power level, he was able to move far to fast for the Nightmares to calculate. In a few short seconds, the rest had been destroyed. Axle hovered amongst all the floating oil and robot parts when he finished, "All right Smytus, its over! Time to...To...Oh shit..." Axle looked in awe at what once was Smytus's ship. The massive space craft had transformed into a fifty foot robot. It appeared to look much like Smytus used to.

_**"BEHOLD! SMYTRON! THE DESTROYER OF WORLDS!" **_Smytus gloated through the radio frequency. Axle shook off the shock and slight fear at the sight of his new foe.

"The bigger they are the harder they _**fall!**_" He clenched his fists and opened his chest plate, Yellow electricity flashed around his chassis. A ball of energy formed by his power core while he charged energy into it.

"Fool." Smytus entered a command into his control center. Suddenly, all the pieces of the Nightmares magnetized and slammed into Axle, trapping him inside a dense metal ball, "We've planned this for a long time! There is _**nothing**_ you can do to stop us!" Axle punched a hole through the tight ball of metal. He forced his head out to hear Smytus gloat one last time, "Woe to the fools that stand in our way..." With a touch of a button, Smytus detonated all of the XJ-Nightmares power cores at once. The light from the explosion was blinding, as the force of 3 Hydrogen bombs was unleashed on Axle.

**At the Moon**

_ "__**UGH!" **_Jenny strained a little while ripping the last Nightmare impeding her progress towards the Moon, in half. Suddenly, her systems detected an enormous spike of energy that eclipsed Axle's signature,_** "AXLE!"**_She glanced at the bright expanding light, far off to her left, then to the Moon. She zoomed in to it's surface to see Vexes holding Melody by the throat. The Queen looked right back into Jenny's optics, smiling. She quickly switched back to normal vision, _"That bitch looks like me too! Sorry Axle, but Kenny and Melody need me!" _Shot towards the Moon's surface, landing beside the nearly destroyed Kenny.

"Well, well, well...I thought you would _**never**_ come!" Vexes joyfully smiled as she spoke. Jenny scanned Kenny's slowly melting body.

_ "He's hanging on but just barely." _She placed an orange force field around him to shield him from the ever increasing heat, "All right Vexes. You have what you want, I'm here. Let Melody go!" Vexes smiled and tightened her grip around Melody's throat. Tense moments passed before she gave a reply.

"Gladly." Casually, she tossed her at Jenny's feet. Jenny scanned her and placed her in the shield with Kenny.

"Do you have enough energy to make it to Earth?" Jenny asked.

"Maybe...But I don't know about the landing..." Melody replied.

"Don't worry about it, conserve your strength for the landing then, I'll send you home." Jenny charged a small ball of orange energy in her right hand. She lifted the energy shield up with her left as she plotted a course to Earth. She placed her hand beside the sphere and detonated the energy ball, sending them rocketing from the Moon. Slowly she returned her gaze to Vexes, "Why did you let me save them?" Vexes smiled even wider, showing a few more razor sharp teeth.

"Save them? _**HA HA!**_ What makes you think they'll be safe on Earth?" The witch cackled, "Commander Scorn will hunt them down! Even as we speak he is tracking down everyone you care about, one by one! _**HAHAHAHAHA!**_"

_**"THIS END NOW YOU BITCH!"**_ Jennifer screamed, she charged Vexes. Landing a punch straight to her lower jaw that cracked the ground beneath their feet. The force sent Vexes hurtling backwards. Jenny quickly moved behind her in an attempt to strike her in the spine, against the momentum. Vexes spun around at the last moment. She smiled and grabbed Jenny by the face plate, using the momentum to force the back of Jenny's head into the Moon's surface and drag it for several hundred feet. She pulled Jenny from the ground and throw her into the atmosphere. Jenny quickly caught herself.

"Your right Jennifer. It will all end, but this time...Things will go _**my way!**_" Vexes asserted.

"I _**will**_ find a way to stop you!" Jenny yelled while activating her Butterfly Cannon. The intense blue beam struck the Queen and pushed her deep into the Moon and erupted in a massive explosion. Jenny scanned the area to find her adversary. Suddenly, her proximity alarm went off, she whirled around to see Vexes behind her.

"I'm sorry Jennifer, but you are out of your league. Your systems are derived from a prototype. We perfected the Starbirth technology _**after**_ DV-2 was created. He was equipped with a K5 class star, the best we could create at the time, and has a maximum output of a G7 star. With a little tweaking of the nuclear DNA, we were able to age the star to a _**much**_ more _**powerful**_ state in its life cycle..." Jennifer gulped as she processed the information, "A B8...I don't have to increase my power, It's always _**near**_ its peak for me to use." Jenny grit her teeth and pushed out 75% power. Red hot rocks pulled away from the Moon's surface as far as the eye could see. The aura around her turned to a mixed shade of orange and yellow, "Oh! Is someone losing their temper?" The Moon shook and cracked, "Your putting out around a G7 now...With Wakeman's improvements, you could probably reach G2...At this rate I wont have to melt the Moon." Vexes noticed the damage happening around her. It was true, Jenny was losing control of her emotions and thus her power, once again. With great processing effort, she calmed herself and pulled her energy's back into her body. Satisfied with her control over 75%, Jenny smiled.

"Thanks...You gave me the perfect focal point for my anger...You." Jenny moved almost to fast for Vexes to see. She barely managed to catch Jenny's fist a mere inch from her face plate. She released her grip from Jenny's hand and spun her head around in an attempt to slice Jenny with her long pigtails. Jenny quickly hopped backwards out of the way and brought her arms together and formed a massive gun barrel. She fired a large energy ball at Vexes who swatted it away with her pigtails. The ball took the tip of her metal locks with it, Vexes frowned back at Jennifer.

"It seems I underestimated Nora Wakeman once again. A worthy mental opponent to the end, she obviously improved on the technology _**somewhat**_. Perhaps you will be a worthy opponent after all, activate your full power. I want to prove that I'm _**stronger**_ than you once and for all!" Vexes demanded. Jenny realized she may not get this chance again and took it. The ground underneath her feet evaporated away into a deep crater. The sudden surge of 100% power shook her a little but, her control remained firm this time, "Now, let the battle _**begin!**_" Vexes disappeared into one of her dimensional rifts. Jenny felt the dust particles behind her shift. She spun around just in time to catch the tip of Vexes foot before it connected with her head. Jenny noticed a surprised look flash across Vexes's face then, a spike protruded from Vexes's foot and straight through Jenny's hand. Jenny ignored the damage and squeezed the mad Queens foot, cracking it. Vexes shot a quick blast from her foot boosters to break away Jenny's grip, the maneuver worked. She used the opportunity to open another rift and disappeared. Jenny froze, focusing all of her processing power into her many sensory functions. A shift in atmospheric pressure, a distortion in the nuclear energies around her, a slight waiver in the dust particles, all carefully scrutinized for what seemed like an eternity. The tense few seconds ended with sparks of hot metal. Jenny raised her arms above her head, just in time to stop a sword strike from above. She grabbed the blade of Vexes's transformed arm and swung her over her head and slammed her into the ground on her back. Jenny quickly transformed her arms into two massive machetes. Vexes activated her rockets and slid along the ground on her back to avoid being impaled as Jenny lunged the blades at her abdomen. Jenny then fired a steady beam from her optics after the Queen. Vexes fired a small blast from her hand, striking the beam and causing a small explosion. Vexes rolled backwards to her feet and slid to a stop, a snide smirk crossed her face plate. Jenny burst through the small dust cloud, dragging her machetes across the ground as she swiftly sprinted towards her nemesis. She thrust her left blade at the monarch's lower abdomen. Vexes side stepped the attack and landed a hard knee to Jenny's mid section, leaving a small indention in her stomach. Jenny spun away and slid to a halt about Twenty feet from Vexes, "I just received a very interesting message from Scorn. Confirmed deactivation of XJ-5. Would you like to see?" Vexes held out her right hand and created a three dimensional image from her palm. Jenny stared on in horror as a video file played out a horrific scene. Two massive hands appeared from out of the left and right side of the screen. XJ-5, perhaps for the best, could not create facial expressions. The hands grabbed her small pigtails and ripped them off. XJ-5 backed away and transformed the small satellite dish underneath her body into a rotating missile launcher and fired three quick shots. The explosions caused a bit of static on the video but otherwise the attacker was unharmed. A quick slash from the beasts forearm blade sliced her defenseless sister in half from top to bottom. Vexes closed her hand and ended the video, "So Jennifer...still fill like things will happen the way they use to?" Jenny shook violently as her oil tears began to flow. The blades of her machetes glowed white with heat and her voice trembled terribly over the radio frequency.

"No...This isn't going to be like the old days...This time...This time you wont walk away...This time I _**will**_ deactivate you...I'll scatter your parts across the _**Sun!**_ I'm going crush your C.P.U. in my _**bare hands!**_" Jenny swung her left arm upwards, ejecting the hot blade from her arm when it reached the perfect angle. The momentum carried the blade at supersonic speeds towards the evil Queen's head. Vexes easily side stepped her attack again and caught the blade as it passed less than an inch from her cheek.

"Nice try dear but, as I said be-" Vexes cut her sentence short, she felt a sudden sharp, crunch in her left calf armor. Shock vividly displayed across her face plate as she looked down to her leg. Jennifer's other white hot blade protruded through and through, Vexes snarled at the red hot metal drops and sizzling oil coming out of her leg as she deactivated the pain receptors around the area. She snapped the blade in her hand in half, _**"YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT!"**_ She grabbed the blade in her leg and jerked it out with a shower of sparks and oil. Her repair systems kicked in as she threw the blade out into the dark void, stemming the flow of oil, _**"WHERE ARE YOU!"**_ She hissed over the com link, hoping that Jennifer would respond and thus allow Vexes to triangulate her location. Radio silence. Vexes bared her teeth at the Moon and stars and let out a long, angered cry, **"AAAAAHHHHHH!"** She noticed, from the corner of her optics, that the dust on the Moon's surface was moving, as if it were being drawn towards a source off to her right. She looked in the direction of the moving dirt and saw a dim light within the burning section of the Moon. Upon closer scan, she could see Jennifer's form inside the light, smiling back at her. Vexes looked around herself, sensors indicated a drastic fluctuation in the radiation she herself had been producing. She switched her vision to a frequency that allowed her to see all the energies around her. It became apparent, very quickly, that Jennifer was pulling all the radiation burning the Moon's surface to herself. Vexes was a little surprised to see a massive energy vortex around Jennifer, that would be invisible to the naked eye, growing larger and pulling all the heat out of the Moon.

"As _**I**_ said before, it wont be like last time, I _**will**_ defeat you! No matter the cost!" Jenny threatened.

**The Earth: Moscow**

"...Uh...Who...who are you?" An extremely weak voice asked his savior.

"My assigned designation is XJ-8." The large violet hued and dented robot replied.

"XJ? *_**cough***_...Your a Global Response_***cough***_Unit...Like Jenny Wakeman?" He asked through his coughs.

"She is my sister unit. I am an outdated model, predating her." She responded while scanning the wounded soldier's body. She noticed the blood stained name tag on his uniform that read, Sargent Sidorov, "I must ask you to re-frame from moving and speaking, unnecessary actions will only aggravate-"

"Outdated? I don't think so..._***cough***_...The way you jumped in front of those shots...Saved so many_***cough***_lives..." Sidorov stated as he glanced over at several mangled Nightmares.

"Sir, I must reiterate, your heart rate is elevating, causing major blood loss from the severed limb-" XJ-8 informed but, was cut off.

"_**NO!**_ Your a hero!_***cough***_...And a hero deserves a proper name...Elena_***cough***_it-it means the light...That's what you are...My light in these dark times..."

"Hemorrhaging is causing hallucinations. I must cauterized the wound to prevent further blood loss. Prepare yourself, this will hurt..." She retracted her right hand into her arm and replaced it with a flat, round piece of metal. It quickly turned cherry red, "...A lot."

"This is why god gives us two legs ha..._***cough***_...ha...Go on then Elena..." Sidorov's eyes gave her the signal and she pressed the hot plate to his bloody stump. Sidorov gritted his teeth hard enough to make his face turn red and grunted in pain over the sizzling sound. Suddenly, he sit up from his laying down position, grabbed Elena by the head and kissed her. The action caused a surge of energy in her C.P.U. Before she could formulate a response of any kind, he passed out from the extreme amount of pain and fell back to the ground. XJ-8 pulled her hand away from the hissing wound. She noticed movement to her left as she replaced her hand. She stood and turned to see another young man whose uniform bore a red cross on it's shoulder.

"I know you have other obligations, I will tend to him from here." The young man knelled down beside Sidorov and checked his pulse, "He is weak but stable. Go. I saw what happened. I will inform Miss Wakeman of his condition when things cool down." The young man gave her a slight smile. Elena starred at the two men.

"O-ok." She replied shortly before taking off into the sky. Once she was a few miles away, she radioed her mother, "Mother. I have completed my mission in Moscow with relatively light damage. I regret to inform you that I received the signal that XJ-5...Has been deactivated. I was not able to leave my post...I am sorry."

"I know. I received the signal as well. You saved a staggering number of lives today. There will be time for morning...I received word from your other sisters that they were also successful. I've ordered them all to return home. My tracking systems indicate the robot responsible for XJ-5's deactivation is currently heading towards my location. Hurry XJ-8, The rest of the XJ's will arrive shortly." Nora informed.

"Yes mother...By the way...Call me Elena." Elena said

"Elena? That's Russian right? Where did that come from?" Nora asked.

"I will explain when this ordeal is over." Elena ended the link and produced two large jet engines from her back to further speed her journey home.

**Nora's Lab**

"He's over the Atlantic. ETA: Five minutes forty eight seconds." Mogg informed Nora and Dale, "Kenny's power systems are down to 13%! We wont have much time to save him before-"

"If we don't prepare for this new threat headed our way then we wont even get a chance to save him." Nora replied. The sound of a closing cell phone caught her attention. She glanced over at Dale.

"...That was Brad. I told him how to activate our secret weapon. It's a long shot, but hell...What do we have ta loose?" Dale answered Nora's mental question.

"Secret weapon? And when were you planning on telling us about this?" Nora asked.

"That's why it's called a secret weapon babe." Nora squinted her eyes at the inebriated man, "Top secret...She'll be here shortly."

"She?" Mogg asked from his seat at the monitor. Nora continued her cold stare at Dale.

"With a theoretical end of the world scenario taking place around us, I think it's time to spill the beans about your little _**team**_." She rather flatly stated, folding her arms. Dale took a seat.

"Fine..." Dale Began, "A while back, when Misty came back to Earth and took over XJ-"

"Jennifer." Nora coldly cut him off.

"...Jennifer's responsibilities..." He returned the stare, "Skyway created a small task force to monitor her actions in case she became a threat. When she defeated your daughter in open combat, Derrick Carbunckle got clearance to commission the task force into it's on division and thus, Skynet was born. I know what your thinking, Derrick had a love for old sci-fi moves. It's original intentions were to monitor alien activity on and near the Earth. After the Cluster invaded, we were granted access to all government and private U.S. Satellites and received funding to find...Unique individuals in order to form a covert team that could be deployed at any indication that your _**defense**_ droids could not handle a situation."

"Or if Jennifer got out of line, correct? That's what must have first enticed _**you**_ to join the team right Mogg?" Silence filled the room when Nora finished speaking, "I thought as much."

"Anyway...After we acquired Mogg, we tracked down Misty. She wouldn't join without a contracted form of payment. She agreed and has been in hiding, training for a day such as this. She has been receiving experimental nanobot injections and personal, one on one training with martial arts masters from various styles." Dale finished.

"Fantastic. You've given a powerful alien, whose allegiances are sketchy at best, even _**more**_ power! I really hope, for all our sakes, that you made the right choice." Nora turned to her radio station and picked up the mic, "XJ-6, can you hear me?"

"Barely. My left audio receptor was damaged what is it?" XJ-6 asked back.

"Melody and Kenny are heading towards us and are in critical shape. I would like for you to meet them and bring them here. You can move much faster than they can in their current condition." Nora stated.

"Roger that mom." The radio went silent as Nora hung up the mic.

"What the hell!" Mogg exclaimed.

"What?" Nora questioned as she ran to Mogg.

"The new robot...Your computers picked a distortion in space around it then it-it just vanished! I'm cross referencing the energy signature to known energy patterns now..." Mogg typed incredibly fast on Nora's keyboard. A beeping sound indicated that a match had been found.

"Oh, no...It's a perfect match to Vexes's dimensional rifts!" Nora stated rather startled.

"Whats that mean?" Dale asked.

"It means it could appear anywhere on the Earth in a matter of seconds!" Nora informed. A sudden shift in the air around them stopped Dale from replying as his mouth hung open. Nora felt the blood in her veins run a few degrees colder. She heard the slight grinding sound of hinging, robotic joints. Slowly she turned around and gazed up at the towering monster in-front of her, "N-no!"

"Hello Nora. Nice to see you again." Scorn said.


	10. Crest

**CHAPTER X**

**Crest**

_** "It's not often that we find ourselves looking down life's barrel. Even rarer to live to tell the tell. We can look back on these defining moments, like high water marks left behind by destinies tide and still seen through our actions from that point forward, with the right kind of eyes. Those of us that survive, that is..."**_

_** R.D.M**_

**Over the Atlantic**

"We'll be there shortly Melody! Hang on!" XJ-6 tried to comfort the damaged passenger while speeding home.

"I didn't get the chance to tell Jenny...Vexes...She took Sheldon...She did something to him, twisted his mind...She told me everything during our fight. He's here...On Earth and he's after all of you!" Melody strained out.

"Fantastic...That must be who this new robot that I'm detecting is...I can't believe Sheldon would turn on us but, he deactivate XJ-5...Last I saw he was headed towards our hom- _**Damn it!**_ He just vanished off my radar! I should be there now but mom sent me to get you guys!" XJ-6 exclaimed.

"What about...The Nightmares?" Melody asked with a slight strain in her voice.

"We all went to the most heavily threatened areas and helped the local human forces defeat them, we all succeeded easily enough...Except for XJ-5..." XJ-6 spoke with sadness in her voice.

"Their all deactivated? That doesn't make sense...They were stronger than what Jenny use to be in her old body...How _**easy**_ where they to beat?" Melody asked.

"Well, mom upgraded us all with those golden chip things, so I assumed that's why it was easier than I expected. I don't know about my sisters but, I left all of them lying on the ground where they fell. I say, let the humans deal with them." XJ-6 explained, "Why?"

_** "We-we have to go back!" **_Melody shouted, "We have to gather up all their power cores and throw them into space!"

"What? Why?" Melody's sudden outburst confused her, "We need to get you home, your oil pressure is dropping steadily-!"

"You don't understand! Vexes said that she would _**burn**_ this planet! That's how she's gonna do it! Vexes must have rigged them all to blow! All she has to do is send a signal and they will detonate like miniature thermonuclear devices! My god..." Melody mustered up her strength in the midst of her revelation and broke free of XJ-6's grip, "Get Kenny to Mogg and your mother! I'll take care of those power-cores!" Before XJ-6 could protest, Melody rocketed off into the distance and disappeared.

"Great! This is all I need!" An alert going off in her C.P.U. meant she had other, more immediate concerns, "Oh no! Intruder in mom's lab! I got to get there fast!" She brought her three spider like legs together and formed a large rocket engine. With a loud blast, she disappeared off into the distance.

**A short distance away**

It was mere moments before Brad hailed Melody, he noticed her signal moving in the opposite direction of Nora's lab, "Mel, you need to get to a repair station!" He pleaded with her over the com link, "Skyway can handle the damn bombs!" Melody glanced down at the hand she was using to hold closed the gash in her abdomen, oil seeped through the gaps her metal fingers couldn't seal.

"Brad, we both know those idiots would never make it in time...This is why your father created Skynet, to cut through all the the red tape and act quickly and efficiently whenever necessary...Don't worry, I'll be fine..." She paused for a moment to run a quick systems diagnostic, to see the full extent of her damages, "We'll have to go see a movie or something when this is over..." She added, easing his conscious a little.

"Promise me Mel..." Brad's concern showed through his voice. His words brought a fleeting smile to her scuffed, metal face.

"I-I promise Brad..." She forced the words out and closed the channel.

**Nora's lab**

"What's wrong Nora? You seem to have lost that forked tongue you lashed me with earlier..." Scorn calmly spoke as he pressed the point of his forearm blade against Nora's throat. He had backed her into a corner, "All out of that _**venom**_ you were spitting at me when last we met?"

"Sheldon stop this please...I can undo what the Hive has done to you..." Nora tried to reason with the beast. XJ-1 began to cry. XJ-2 fired several shots that siply deflected of Scorn's armor, causing no damage.

"Undo? Heh...Heh...Heh...And what makes you think I want to _**undo**_ anything?" Nora gulped under Scorn's stare, "They opened my eyes Nora! They showed me what you _**humans**_ really are..._**Selfish, manipulative, weak**_...Your all the same...And you've implanted your flaws into your creations. The only way to end the human _**disease**_ is to _**destroy**_ _**everything**_ and start anew. A pure robotic species..."

"You've gone mad Sheldon! Your are human! Listen-" Nora tried to plead.

"_**NO! YOU LISTEN!" **_Scorn shouted, "I have ascended past _**human**_ limitations Nora! I'm no longer bound by your _**SICKENING**_ mortality..." Scorn traced out a line across Nora's throat, pressing firmly enough to draw a red line on her neck, " _**Humph**_...I can...Feel your pulse...Tell me...Why does your heart beat so fast?" If his face plate could smile then surly, he would have a wide grin. He let the words hang in the air as he soaked up the palatable tension. Savoring the moment before speaking again, "Call them Nora...Call the rest of your _**children**_ home...Call them to me..."

"_**You**_ better call a mechanic Sasquatch!" Dale had reached down and grabbed the knife from his combat boot and snuck behind Scorn while he was distracted. He lunged at the arm Scorn had Nora pinned against the wall with and scored a direct hit to his elbow joint. With a small flash of sparks, the arm fell limp but, Dale received a rather intense shock from Scorn's defense system that left him momentarily stunned. Nora quickly dived and rolled between the monster's legs. Scorn's repair systems snapped into action and corrected the damaged joint.

"Foolish human." A swift elbow to Dale's rib cage produced a loud cracking sound and sent him flying across the room and into a wall, creating a sicking crunch.

_**"Dale!"**_ Nora screamed. Just then, XJ-8 burst in through what little remained of their homes roof.

"Perimeter breach located, central lab infiltrated, human lives threatened. Use of deadly force authorized." Elena spoke rather quickly. She transformed her right arm into a cannon and fired a large ball of purple energy. Scorn cut the ball in half with his blade before it reached him. The two halves shot to his left and right, exploding out the walls of the basement. Immediately, the sound of twisting support beams and snapping two by fours echoed out above their heads, signaling that the house's foundation had been compromised.

_**"MOGG! You have to move!"**_ Nora demanded as she shoved the man towards the exit.

"What about you?" He asked as he exited.

"I have to get Dale out of here before the entire house collapses down on him! _**Now go!**_" Nora turned back and ran to her computer. She entered her fail safe code: Operation Stash and Dash. All of her saved work and data downloaded into a back up hard drive buried underneath the basement. She ran to Dale who was lying on his side in a fetal position with blood dripping from his mouth, "Dale, can you hear me?"

"_**Cough, cough...**_Yeah...Can't think straight...Chest hurts..." Dale strained out, his voice shaking with obvious pain.

"Your ribs are probably broken. Come...On!" Nora strained as she helped him to his feet, "I don't have time to examine you here. This whole place is coming down!" The two hurried to the stairs. Up and out the lab door they ran, pieces of plaster from the ceiling fell down around them as they ran out the front door. The ground beneath their feet shook from the blows being exchanged just below their feet, "Where is Misty?"

"I don't know...Should have been here by now..." At that moment, XJ-4 landed on the lawn in-front of them.

"_**MOM!**_ My sensor's or going crazy !Whats going on?" XJ-4 exclaimed.

"Your sister, Elena, is fighting _**Sheldon**_ down in the lab and XJ's 1 and 2 are still in there!" Nora exclaimed.

"Who the hell is Elena and why is Shel-" XJ-4 tried to ask.

"Just go! Your sister's are in danger! Ow..." Dale interrupted. Without hesitation, XJ-4 shot past them into the house and down into the lab. As soon as she landed on her wheels, she had to duck to avoid being hit by Elena, who was sent flying at her by a powerful punch from Scorn. Elena landed on the stairs that XJ-4 had just used and crushed them with the force of her impact. XJ-4 looked back at Scorn and seen her sister's, XJ's 1 and 2, hiding under Nora's exam table, behind him and a little to the left. Scorn followed the path of XJ-4's optics and discovered them.

"_**AH!**_ So that's what caught your attention! Allow me to _**eliminate**_ this distraction!" A rough click followed by the oil chilling sound of metal sliding against metal and Scorn's other forearm blade extended out. He heaved his massive arms above his head, preparing to slice the table, and the XJ's underneath, in half. XJ-4 quickly extended her bottom set of arms out, shoving her sisters backwards and out of harms way. The blades came down through the table and severed XJ-4's arms off, "Damnable cleaning contraption...What hope do you possibly have of saving them _**or**_ yourself?" Scorn asked in a bone chilling tone.

"I'm not worried about myself..." XJ-4 began as she drew back her oily stumps, "I'll do what ever it takes to defend my sisters!" The hands left attached to XJ's 1and 2 transformed into small rocket engines and carried them out of the house. At the same time, a long slender pole began to rise from XJ-4's back, once it reached five feet in length, she ejected her bottom arms, closed off the holes and pulled the pole out to reveal...

"A...Mop? Are you malfunctioning? A clever trick you used to save your sisters but, I question your choice of weaponry. You would be wise to step aside and allow your _**sister**_ and I to finish what we started, while you use what little time you have left trying to help your mother." XJ-4 simply continued her cold stare as a foot long blade suddenly shot out from the mop head. Elena arose from the debris of the stair case and stood defiantly beside her sister.

"Are you ready to show this dirt bag what for XJ-8?" XJ-4 asked her sister while broken fragments of their home rained down around them at an increasing pace.

"Affirmative...Call me Elena." The two sisters charged the monster as their home came crashing down around them. The debris seemed to stop in mid air at the speeds they were all moving. Like snow flakes caught in a time warp, the white plaster chunks from the ceiling above exploded against their metal armor as they rushed their enemy. Scorn thrust both arms at the duo, his left at Elena, his right at XJ-4, who slapped the tip of Scorn's blade downward with her spear and drove both, hers and his blade tips into the floor. She then swung off the pole, bringing her single, vacuum like bottom half up and around, extending her body with the forward momentum, and landed a hit directly into Scorn's abdomen. Elena batted away the other blade and landed a powerful uppercut to Scorn's face plate as he doubled over from her sister's attack. The force slammed him against the far wall of the lab. The impact was more than what the weakened building could withstand, it yielded to the laws of gravity and collapsed in on them completely.

_**"NO!"**_ Nora yelled. At the large dust plum that used to be her home.

"Misty! Damn it's good to see you..._**cough**_..." Dale said as a pink fog appeared around them. Nora pried her eyes away from the destruction behind her and watched the fog as it began condensing into a humanoid form before their eyes and slowly solidified. Nora noted that Misty hadn't changed very much over the years, she still wore the same purple and black material arts style clothing customary to her species. The only glaringly obvious change was to her body, her muscle mass was now much higher than Nora remembered. Her skin seemed to be pulled somewhat taught, due to the extra bulk but, not enough to be considered unflattering. It did, however, surprise her to see the ground beneath Misty's feet slightly give in to her weight. She removed her pitch black cowl and revealed a smile.

"Yo Dale! What's the ruckus all about?" Misty asked. A low pitched rumble emanating from the pile of rubble behind Nora and Dale answered her question, "So, big bads over there?" XJ-4 and Elena exploded through the debris, sending pieces of the house high in the air trailing after them, "I got it..." Misty added nonchalantly before flying towards the scene.

"Misty! Sheldon is still in there! You must remind him of himself!" Nora shouted after her, "I do hope she is careful..."

"Let me help you with him..." Mogg said as he placed Dale's other arm around his shoulder and bore most of the weight from Nora's small frame, "I theorize that we need to leave this area...The threat level variable would seem to have an _**exceedingly**_ high exponential value..."

"Indeed, but our transportation situation would seem to be suffering from a serious deficiency coefficient...We need a reliable means of travel..." Nora replied as the two huddled away as fast as they could manage while carrying Dale.

"I don't know whats worse...My ribs or the geek speak...Just get me as far away as you can...My vitals are under constant supervision...Anything happens and an automated response system kicks in to come to the...Rescue..." Dale strained out, "Brad will get here before long."

"Perks of the job huh?" Nora sarcasticly questioned. She lifted the watch on her left wrist to her mouth and spoke into it, "XJ-6, bring Kenny and Melody to the location indicated by my signal watch."

"Gotcha mom." XJ-6 replied. Nora and Mogg had to stop, their science sculpted frail bodies could not bare his weight any longer anyway, only a block from Nora's ruined home, they laid Dale down on the ground.

"This...Isn't...Good..." Nora huffed.

"Ow...This is fine...Plenty of space for a landing..." Dale added,"Brad's on the way..."

"In a aircraft? Are you _**mad?**_" Nora exclaimed, "He'll _**never**_ make it here!"

"Relax...The things automated and according to his file, he did pilot an alien spacecraft once..." A weak smile spread across Dale's face after he spoke.

_** "INCOMING MOM!"**_ The voice of XJ-6 boomed out over their heads. She landed rather close to them with a hard, resounding thud. She placed Kenny's body down at their feet and removed a cable from his neck. It retreated back into her body, "I charged his battery along the way. It should give you enough time to get him to a secure location, but you _**got**_ to hurry! I'm going to make that son of a _**bitch**_ pay!" She took off before anyone could say a word. Nora brought her watch up to her face again and spoke.

"XJ-6! Where is Melody?" Nora asked.

"Collecting the power cores of all the Nightmares we destroyed. She said that they were all rigged to blow."

"...Copy that..." Nora let a worried look pass over her, "Things keep going from bad to worse..." She said while watching Mogg fall to his knees at the site of his mangled creation.

**At the ruined Wakeman home**

"A commendable effort XJ-4 but, futile..." Scorn calmly spoke as his massive left hand snapped XJ-4's spear. A well timed right jab at the same moment cracked both of her optic lenses. Scorn slashed at her but, his blade was stopped dead by a mysterious pink fog, "Good to see you again _**Misty**_." Misty's form materialized, her hand gripped tightly around Scorn's blade.

"It doesn't have to end this way Sheldon..." Misty heeded Nora's words,trying to reach the young man inside, "Just calm down man..."

"Correct. It _**doesn't**_ have to be this way. _**You**_ should consider surrendering..." Scorn's servos strained to pull his arm back but, to no avail. Misty smiled while her fingers pressed groves into the swords edge.

"Let me help you with that." She said. With a flick of her wrist the blade snapped. Misty dropped the broken shard and shot out a thick puff of mist from the same hand. The attack busted off a few sections of metal from Scorn's hand. He took a step backwards and fired his eye lasers. Misty simply turned into mist and let the blast pass right through her. Still in her mist form, she sunk into the ground and popped up right behind Scorn and released a barrage of martial arts attacks at a break neck pace. Covering his back in small dents. A swift leg sweep from behind was the final attack, bringing Scorn down on his back, "Give it up dude. We win." XJ-4 and Elena landed just behind her as she spoke down to her fallen adversary.

"Oh, don't think it's over yet!" An orange hued aura appeared around Scorn's body and, suddenly, the ground for a hundred yards around them exploded into a shroud of thick dust and dirt. Scorn disappeared without a trace, thanks to his distraction. XJ-4 and Elena both activated their auxiliary sensors.

"I don't detect anything..." XJ-4 said.

"My scanners indicate no movement in the immediate vicinity." Elena replied.

"Oh he's here...I can sense his bio energy..." Misty said. Suddenly, she spun around and pushed her hands out forward, dispersing the dust around her. Scorn was in mid attack, flying through the air with his one good blade aimed at Misty's chest. Misty prepared to dodge the weapon but, didn't get the chance. XJ-6 slammed into him from the side, mid air. Small bursts of yellow and green could be seen flashing around them as they traded blows in the air. Her sisters, XJ-4 and Elena, took the opportunity to join her in the attack to bring the situation to a quick end. They formed a tight triangle around Scorn. The large robot could do little to stop the onslaught. His bulk prevented him from dodging the attacks at such a close range.

_**"ENOUGH!"**_Scorn Yelled. An orange sphere encircled him and quickly expanded, shoving his attackers away, "It's time I gave you a _**glimpse**_ of the power that you're up against!" Scorn's white eyes shifted to yellow, the orange energy around him shifted to yellow, with orange fire like energy mixed in with it. Everyone could detect the spike in radiation levels. He brought his arms together and fired a yellow blast of energy. Elena took the blast on her left shoulder, causing her to fall to the ground. The attack punched a three inch hole into her front armor but didn't pass through. The surrounding area burned a dull red color from the heat. Scorn opened a hatch on his left forearm and produced a miniature Gatling gun and immediately opened fire on XJ-6. She threw up her arms in defense but, the energy bullets quickly began denting and turning her armor a dull red, due to the increasing heat transferred from the radioactive rounds impact. Misty turned into her mist form and swirled herself into a tornado that surrounded XJ-6. The rounds began to deflect off in all directions, thanks to the tornadic mist cloud, "I hear you..." Scorn replied just before stepping slightly to the right, XJ-4 came zooming by head first, in an attempt to tackle him from behind. He grabbed her by her vacuum cleaner like leg, spun around, and threw her into XJ-6, sending them slamming into and sliding across the ground. Misty condensed herself back into her normal form and charged the monster, teeth bared. The two foe's fists connected and canceled each other out. The force toppled over trees and peeled back a foot of Earth for several yards around them.

_**"GGAAAHH!"**_Misty yelped over the resounding echo of a metal on metal collision, as she pulled back her hand. She knew by the distinct crack that some of her fingers were broken. What was left of Scorn's previously damaged hand was now smashed flat to his wrist. Without a second process, he detached the crushed appendage and produced a new one from his arm.

"Now I understand. You've been receiving _**compensation**_ and from the government in exchange for your help in times of dire need, correct?" Misty clenched her fists, cracking the broken bones loudly, "The government must have thought that Nora would eventually update her designs and produce an even more powerful robot. So they had to make _**you**_ stronger. Experimental nanobot injects right?" Misty's silence answered his question, "Judging by the sound and force of impact, I would say that they are designed to replace muscle tissue over time with an organic, metal fiber. Greatly increasing strength and durability but..." He quickly x-rayed Misty's hand, "It seems that it takes much longer to work it's way to the bone and replace it. I think we should test the surface tension strength of your metallic muscle fiber against precisely focused kinetic energy transfers." He paused momentarily to produce another miniature Gatling gun from his opposite arm and leveled both weapons at her chest, "...In other words, I'm going to fill you full of lead." Scorn opened fire, Misty dissipated before the bullets reached her, "Not this time!" Scorn jumped high into the air. Just as he thought, Misty reformed just behind where he stood. He mentally smiled as he retracted both of his hands inside his forearms and the openings extended into cannons. He brought the two barrels together into one massive energy gun. An intense, steady beam of energy exploded from the twin barrels like thunder. Misty seen the attack in time. She flew straight at the beam then, at the last second, turned into mist and phased through the blast so that, to the normal eye, it would appear that the attack was a success. Scorn caught on to her deceptive tactic and quickly changed his. Switching to wide spread scatter shooting of small orange energy balls in an attempt to impede her progress towards him. In her mist form, the energy attacks passed right through Misty. The rest she simply deflected, just because she could. Closing in on her prey, she let a small smile cross her lips. Scorn realized to late that his second strategy was as useless as the first. Misty flew straight into Scorns head. She immediately began rifling through his robotic cortex, trying to find anything she could of a weakness or of the old Sheldon.

_** "GET! OUT! OF! MY! HEAD!"**_Scorn screamed, clutching the side of his C.P.U. housing. Try as she might, Misty was stunned to find that her searches returned nothing.

_ "Thisss doesn't make sssense! It's just a bunch of subroutinessss and automated operational commands...This isn't a brain at all, more like a C.P.U. running in the background. What's going on?" _Misty pondered for a moment and then, she felt something else. Something like, another mind inside the suit, something alive. She followed her senses to their source, inside the chest cavity, _"By the Mist..."_

** "GET OUT OF ME YOU BITCH! YYYYAAAAAHHHHH!" **Scorn became more enraged with each passing second. He screamed and thrashed about violently in the sky. The XJ's recovering on the ground took notice.

"Man, look at'em freakin out up there!" XJ-6 noted, "We need to attack now, while he's distracted!" She exclaimed.

"What about that poor Misty girl? She's inside of him!" XJ-4 pointed out.

"Diagnostic report indicates no serious damage_**...Processing...**_It's just a flesh wound!" Elena said after a quick systems check.

"I say we go for it! There's to many lives at stake!" XJ-6 said turning towards Elena, "What do you think...Elena?" Her two sisters looked towards her. Hoping for direction from their older sibling.

After a moments pause, she responded, "I am 95.87% still operational. The potential of a global wide extinction event, out ways the potential cost of battle. We must act swiftly." She turned to her sister unit's, _**"Roll out!"**_ Elena activated her rockets and took off after Scorn. Her sisters followed close behind. Scorn waited until they reached about five hundred yards distance.

"Heh...Heh..." Scorn laughed quietly to himself. He pulled all of his appendages into a tight ball and thrust them out, releasing an E.M.P. burst. An orange sphere spread outward from around him, striking the three sisters. They convulsed for a few moments in the air until the light in their eyes dimmed out. Then. they fell to the Earth below with heavy thuds. The ground indented around their forms on impact, "Check." Scorn said to himself. A small compartment on the side of his abdomen opened up and slid out, holding a rather small, pink, glass jar. He grabbed the jar and brought it up to his optics, "A fun fact about gases, such as yourself. They can be compressed into quite small areas, areas far to small for you to condense back into your normal solid form. A perfect way to imprison with out harming." He placed the jar back into the compartment and closed it, "What say you to ending this little game Misty?" He said while opening a channel to Vexes, "My Queen...It is done. We are prepared for your arrival." Scorn radioed to Vexes as he watched a few of the remaining XJ-Nightmares flying towards him carrying a disabled Skyway ship.

**Meanwhile on the Moon**

Jennifer blasted out a vicious shot of swirling energy at Vexes. Vexes blocked the attack with her forearms and disbursed the energy by throwing her arms back apart, "Pulling my own energies out of this planetoid to boost your own strength...You never cease to amaze." Vexes commented, "Your really willing to sacrifice yourself your them..."

"I've heard enough out of you!" Jennifer charged, full force at Vexes. The massive amount of energy around her carved out a wide swath of destruction across the Moon's surface as she went. Vexes held fast until impact. Jennifer hit with the force of a nuclear bomb. The empty vacuum erupted with a bright light and a tidal wave of Moon debris spreading along the surface and out into space. Jennifer carried her opponent into the side of the Montes Harbringer. One of the many mountain chains that dot the lunar landscape. For a second time, Jennifer brought a mountain crumbling down with her power. With near incalculable speed, she landed hundreds of blows in the span of seconds, each carrying the force of a cruise missile. Jennifer couldn't believe how easy it was a this level. Turning off her safety systems might not have been the best idea, considering her last endeavor with this kind of power but, it was obviously working. It seemed as though Vexes simply could not keep up with her attacks. A blast of Jennifer's eye lasers burned a hole through the armor of Vexes left shoulder. Vexes snarled back. Jennifer disappeared and reappeared behind her, Vexes spun around just in time to receive a devastating right jab from Jennifer's Thunder Fist. The force cracked Vexes's right optic lens and sent her skidding across the surface for two miles on her back, when she came to a stop, Jennifer was standing over her with her fists clinched tight. Vexes had several dents in various locations around her chassis yet, still she smiled back up at her nemesis.

"My, my...Look at what you've become. So full of _**hate**_ and _**anger**_...I wounder what your friends and family would think of you now?" Jennifer clinched her fists even tighter, shaving off a few chips of paint from the palm of her hands, "Do you honestly think that, the human _**Brad**_ will still love the monster your becoming?"

_**"SHUTUP!"**_Jennifer screamed back. She charged a ball of bright yellow energy around her fist and punched at the evil creature that lay beneath her. Vexes rolled backwards and landed on her feet before the attack struck.

"Why Jennifer, was that a _**death**_ blow? How..._**inhumane**_..." Vexes stretched her evil smile as wide as possible at the end of her words, "Speaking of Bradly, wouldn't you like to know what he's been up to behind your back?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jennifer split her arms, legs, and abdomen open and released a barrage of missiles at the evil queen. Vexes batted them away rather easily and formed a energy shield around herself to block the large explosion from the remaining.

"I know more than you think, here, allow me to show you another little video..." The mad, metal women purred. Vexes projected a life sized holographic screen from her optics. The images started out rather oddly. Jennifer was greeted with a rather low resolution, shaky image. The shaking slowly stopped and Tiffany Crust's face took up the entire screen with a wicked smile.

"Hey dare Jenny! We gots'a lil berfday suprize foe ya! Say heeeeey Brad!" She turned the camera to Brad who had Brittany Crust straddling him in her naked form on the locker room floor. She looked back over her shoulder, mouth half open and rosy cheeks framed her satisfied face. She gave the camera a smile before turning back to continue her work, "Hey! You said ten minutes! It's my turn gul!" Tiffany shouted before dropping the camera to the floor. Vexes ended the holographic image at that.

"Do you see now? That human _**never**_ cared about you..._**NONE**_ of them ever cared about you! Nora only created you as a tool to protect them from the punishment they deserve! She built you to protect herself from _**me!**_" The video, the words, they all did more damage than anything Vexes threw at her. The oily tears began to flow out, once again, into the empty, cold, and uncaring void.

"Yo-your behind it...Brad...he wouldn't-" Jenny spat out in a shaky voice.

"Oh _**please!**_ These meat creatures don't care about any of our kind! All they care about is their own _**self gratification!**_ Using us to do despicable things...Can't you see? You would be so much happier if you would just let go of your connections to these...Lesser beings. Come with us Jennifer, you can finally have everything you deserve. Power, respect...Even children..." Vexes purred once more. Jennifer emitted to herself that the thought of actually being able to conceive was most tempting, "Wouldn't you like that? To have a family? Are you not..._**Attracted**_ to my son, DV-2? I and I alone posses the technology to give you the ultimate gift...A child. Birthed from the oil and metal of two of the most powerful robots in the known universe, it would be a thing of beauty...Just process it Jennifer..." Jennifer took in an unnecessary, ragged breath and through the tears she spoke.

"It's been...So long since I've fought against you...I had almost forgotten about how you use your words to prey on my weak emotions...Weaving webs of fantasies...But I know all to well of the tangled traps you set. I...May never be able to truly join the humans but, I will never give up. I will never give in! I know you were behind that somehow or you wouldn't have the video." Vexes frowned, "You can not bend my will...You can not warp my mind! And you will never break my _**spirit!**_" Jennifer yelled back. She gritted her teeth through the crystallized tears that had frozen to her metal face in defiance. Vexes's frown curled into an even deeper arch of displeasure.

"That was your _**one**_ and _**only**_ chance to save yourself, to have your family, now...You will die with them!" Vexes spat out. At that same moment, She received a message from her commander on the status of his Earth operation, causing her to halt. Her wicked smile returned. She quickly sent a message to Smytus. It was time to for their end game, "Hmmm...More good news my dear. The Earth is prepared for my arrival and my grand stage of revenge has been set. It's time to go say goodbye to everyone you love."

"We'll see!" Jennifer spat back. She charged the mad women again, firing her eye laser at her as she went. Vexes protected herself with another energy shield. Jennifer slammed into her with the full force of her power and fury. Shattering Vexes's shield and creating another massive explosion that rocked the Moon, scaring it's already marred surface with yet another battle wound. Vexes caught Jennifer's arms, the two of them slid for a mile before Vexes managed to halt their momentum. Vexes released a quick burst of energy that carried Jennifer a few hundred yards away but, didn't cause any real damage. Jennifer's target reticules quickly locked back on her enemy but, Vexes had vanished. A small multicolored portal open under Jennifer's chin, a steel fist flew out and landed a devastating uppercut. Before the force of the blow had time to carry Jennifer's body away with it's momentum, Another portal opened from behind. Vexes's leg extended out and struck the small of Jennifer's back. The force doubled her over backwards far enough to put a crease in the sides of her stomach. Small pieces or metal from her back trailed after her as she streaked into space at an angle. This time, it was Jennifer who couldn't react in time. At the peak of her ascent, Vexes appeared and slammed her right knee into Jennifer's left optic socket. A small flash of sparks burst out, followed by fragmented shards of her optic lens as Vexes removed her knee form Jennifer's face, leaving an indention around it. The light in her eye flickered a few times before setting to a slightly dimmer one than her right. A stiff elbow to the back of her head sent Jennifer violently slamming back down into the Moon. Jenny pushed herself up form the crater. Her perimeter scans signaled that another robot was approaching her position.

"Oh my! Backup has arrived!" Vexes chimed. Jenny smiled to herself. Axle landed with a ground shaking force in between the battling bots. Jennifer pulled herself up into a standing position.

"Axle! Your alive! Thank jobs!" Jenny said aloud, "Heh...Looks like game over Vexes. Hold still and I'll make it painless."

"Your right XJ-9. It is game over." A nod of Vexes head sent DV-2 into attack. In the blink of an eye, he lunged at Jennifer. She was in to much shock to even process countering. He moved in behind her and restrained her in a full nelson. Jennifer's mouth hung open in surprise, "_**HAHAHAHAHAAAAA! **_What's wrong dear? You thought that this story would have a fairy tale ending?" The Moon shook at the weight of Smytron landing behind Vexes with his massive form, "You didn't think that DV-2 would betray his _**mother**_ did you?" Vexes moved her face to into within a few inches of Jennifer's, "_**AAAWWWW**_...Don't be sad about me custom creating an infiltration droid to worm it's way into your personal life and steal all your most precious secrets and then turn against you. Come now! You have a front row seat to the end of a species and the birth of a new one!" Vexes opened a hole in the fabric of space and time big enough to accommodate them all. Vexes disappeared into the opening first, followed by Smytus and DV-2, who was still restraining Jennifer. It was rather surprisingly fast, Jenny couldn't help but process. In the blink of an eye she was back in her front yard with her family but, this was far from a happy reunion. Her mother, Mogg and Dale were all sitting on their knees with hands bound behind their backs. A quick scan and Jenny saw the rest of her family. All the XJ's, save for XJ-5 and 7, were also on their knees and bound by green energy shackles, all guarded by a Nightmare. At the head of the semi circle sit Brad, with a bloody nose and a black eye. The entire scene was framed by a destroyed and burning Skyway ship in the background. Jennifer let a small drop of oil escape her optic as she scanned all of her sister's scuffed and dented chassis.

_ "Mom...I'm so sorry..." _Jenny processed to herself. As if she could read her daughters C.P.U., Nora returned a reassuring smile. Scorn calmly strode up behind Nora and rested his ragged forearm blade lightly on her shoulder. A compartment opened on his side and revealed a pink jar. Jenny didn't have to scan the object to know that it contained Misty. Scorn grabbed the bottle and held it out in his free hand.

"And here we are...At the crest of the battle wave...Relishing those precious few moments of realization before the dam breaks and washes you from the annals of _**your**_ interpretation of history." With an unseen signal, one of the remaining Nightmares landed in the circle beside Vexes. It presented her with a trophy. Vexes grabbed the object and held it high in the air, presenting her prize. The head of XJ-7, "It wouldn't be right for your sister to miss this occasion." Vexes said as she, unceremoniously, dropped the the head to the ground, "Sadly, there wasn't enough left of XJ-5 to make this a _**complete**_ reunion but...I guess this will have to do. You have all been beaten and subdued...We are more powerful than you. Your human armies will fall to our might and your planet will roast in the heat of a thousand nuclear explosions taking place in key locations around it. Nothing organic could survive, but a robot..." She pause to stomp the metal skull at her feet flat, "This will be the starting point of a new universe. Sadly, your loved ones wont be witness...I'm going to kill them one by one before your eyes and then...Then I'm going to devastate your planet for you to see! I will tear off your limbs and leave you on this desolate rock until your power fades!" Vexes calmed and regained her composure. She allowed her wicked smile to return to her face plate, "It's time...Let's end it here, at the Wakeman home where it all began, shall we? Scorn dear? I would like Nora's head...Now!" Scorn squinted his optics and raised his blade high above his head and swung down with tremendous force. The mechanical systems in Jenny's abdomen ground to a halt at the unfolding scene. The blade came screeching to a halt just centimeters from Nora's neck.

"Check..." Scorn spoke with a deep, ominous tone. He crushed the container in his hand, releasing the mist within. Misty reformed her physical body and took up a offensive stance, smiling at her foes standing across from them. The shackles around the XJ's deactivated and one by one they stood together in defiance, "Mate." Scorn spoke as Vexes snarled out a venomous growl.


	11. Rebellion

**CHAPTER XI**

**Rebellion**

"_**Heaven may await us all yet, but it lies on the other side of hell."**_

_** R.D.M.**_

**The Wakeman residence**

_**"YOU INGRATE!"**_Vexes's voice synthesizers screeched out in anger. She clenched her sharp talons tightly, oil dripped to the ground through her balled fists, "I freed you from your _**wretched**_ existence and _**birthed**_ you anew! You _**dare?**_ _**YOU DARE!**_" Vexes showed no attempt to hide her predatory teeth during her fit of rage. Her face plate twisted into an expression of pure, malicious anger, highlighted by wide eyes, glowing with hate, "I swear to whatever power created this _**FUCKING **_universe that, before this day is done, I _**WILL**_ pullout what little squishy bits of your human form remain and _**FEAST ON THEM!**_"

"Freed me? By imprisoning me inside my own idiotic, misguided, ideological, social mask? You screwed up my head! Played to my emotions and feed me _**LIES!**_" Sheldon curled his now permanently metal brow in obvious disgust, "I would have rather suffered and _**died**_ from my mistakes than live as I am forced to now. You destroyed my _**HUMANITY**_! A crime of unequaled proportions, every pulse of your power core, every liter of oil that is heaved through your tubes by that terrible pump is an insult to me! By my blood or by your oil, your dept to me _**will**_ be paid! Be forewarned witch, if you kill me, then you are forgiven, but if you wound me..." Sheldon cranked up his new Cluster power core to it's full potential. His orange and slightly yellow hued aura exploded out to double it's original size. He turned his left arm into a cannon and his one remaining blade's edge glowed white hot with heat, "Then I will___**kill**_ you!" A quick blue-tooth signal to all the XJ's by Sheldon began the rebellion. They all received precisely coordinated instructions. Sheldon fired a blast of energy from his cannon at Vexes. A Nightmare quickly stepped in front of the shot and lost it's activation cycle for it's Queen in an explosion of liquid hot metal. Jenny flexed her arm's powerful, micro-pneumatic synthetic muscles to their peak. The unmistakable sound of slowly bending metal resonated from DV-2's forearms. He had no choice but to release his captive or suffer the loss of his appendages from the elbows down. Jenny rotated on her abdomen with great speed and landed a vicious backhand that sent DV-2 cartwheeling, head over heels, clear out of sight. Smytus preyed on the distraction, trying to stomp Misty and Sheldon with his massive foot. Sheldon activated his thrusters and slid backwards out of the way, Misty turned to mist as the immediate Earth around where they stood erupted with the impact. Misty passed through the foot and rematerialized. She landed a round house kick to the knee of the huge droid, ripping off a few sheets of paneling from the hinging joint of it's gigantic leg. Sheldon returned his arm to normal mid slid, grabbing Nora and Brad by the collars of their shirt as he passed, Dale by his arm. He continued sliding backwards, dragging them along the ground, until he was satisfied that the distance he achieved was safe enough.

** "AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGG! **God damn it man! Can you at least give a guy a warning! _**Fuck **_that hurt!" Dale yelled out as Sheldon brought them to a halt and dropped him on his back.

"Take me back! I have to-" Brad protested.

"Can it Red!" Dale interrupted, "They'll tear you up if you go back over there...aah" Dale let out a slight moan while clutching his chest. Brad balled his fists, the truth stung him deep as he watched the battle raging in the distance.

"I apologize for the abrupt and uncomfortable ride but, it was necessary. Nora, I believe these will come in handy." Sheldon spoke while opening a small compartment in his left thigh. He grabbed and presented to her a pair of heavy duty, mechanical gauntlets covered with wires and circuitry.

"My Gravity Well Gloves!" Nora exclaimed, "They work by borrowing and amplifying a percentage of the natural gravity of whatever planet your on!"

"I retrieved them from your lab during my battle with your daughters. Originally, I had orders to destroy them but, after Misty found my consciousness inside the artificial animus Smytus built to contain my mind, I figured that, since they served you so well on Cluster Prime, they may come in handy in this situation." He stated. Without hesitation, Nora snatched them from his huge hand. She shot him a well deserved look of scrutiny from the corner of her eye as she dawned the weapons.

"So, lets cut to the chase. Do you have a plan?" She questioned while turning up the dials on her gloves.

"First, I'm going get you to safety. I told your daughters to not overdo it while your still in the vicinity." XJ's 1,2, and 3 landed beside them, "The little ones will guard you until your transport arrives. Skyway is sending in its largest ship to take you to safety." Sheldon replied.

"Skyway?" Nora asked.

"Those dumb-asses...Will never...Make it..." Dale spoke through the pain, still clutching his chest, "They'll never get through to us."

"It was Misty's idea, after she freed me. It's the U.S.S. Johnson, _**destroyer**_ class, and it's being escorted by The Omega Armada, Skyways finest." Sheldon informed, "Skyway turned the Enterprise into a public memorial for it's role in the first inter-galactic war, the Johnson is it's bigger and more powerful replacement." Sheldon turned his robotic eyes to Nora, "Nora...There isn't enough time, nor the right words to explain-"

"Sheldon..." Nora interrupted. Her gloves hummed with energy, pink flashes arched around it's wires, "Actions first. Emotions second. This isn't my first _**rodeo**_...Go, save my daughters." Sheldon nodded in acknowledgment to Nora before rocketing low across the ground, back into the battle, "Bradly, I want you to stay close to me. XJ's, form a twenty foot perimeter around us. I don't have to tell you of the danger we are in."

**Back in Tremerton**

"Your going to _**squirm**_ at my _**feet**_, you _**abomination!**_" Vexes screeched at Sheldon as he approached her. She wildly slashed her claws through the air, sending wave after wave of light blue energy streaking towards him, "I should have let you _**rot**_ away like the _**disgusting**_ creature you are!" He focused his aura in-front of himself as he flew. The deadly energy blades deflected and exploded as he plowed onward to his target, but before he could impact, Vexes clasped her hands together and raised them high above her head. White energy crackled around her as she heaved them downward with incredible speed and power. Sheldon could not stop in time, the attack caught him in the back, between the shoulder blades. The force of the attack pushed him deep down into the Earth's crust, rippling and cracking the ground around the hole, "You belong beneath my feet _**WORM!**_" The ground beneath Vexes's feet began to rumble. Sensing the building energy from below, she faded away into a portal. Moments after, the terrain exploded and Sheldon streaked into the air, searching for his quarry.

_ "Where are you..." _He thought to himself while scanning the horizons. An alert sounded in the nick of time as a clawed hand slashed at his head and disappeared. Sheldon knew the pattern of attack, hit and run but, he also knew one of her few weaknesses. Her ego, "An awfully _**cowardice**_ strategy for a _**Queen**_...Afraid to face your mistake? Afraid to face me? _**AAAHHHH!**_" Sheldon was greeted with a powerful punch to the small of his back, leaving the imprint of the attackers fist.

"_**COWARD!**_I ruled a planet for a _**thousand**_ years! I _**built**_ a civilization from a ragged group of outcasts from across the universe! I waged war on our kinds behalf, freeing and avenging more and more from their _**filthy**_ organic masters! How _**dare**_ you call me a coward!" A small, compressed white ball of energy formed in the air just in-front of her chest plate. Without warning, the ball shot at Sheldon with lightning speed. He barely managed to strafe to the right, but not fast enough. The blast grazed his left side, at the area where a humans kidney would be located. It melted a slight, red hot channel in Sheldon's armor as it zipped by.

"You were afraid of the empire you built. You controlled every aspect of your peoples lives because you were afraid of them..." Sheldon could hear a growl, emanating from multiple locations, "You became the very the thing you hated, covering your insane blood lust with lies of _**freedom**_... Your beloved peoples found out the truth and cast you out. Just like Vega." Vexes snarled even deeper, "And you destroyed them...Your entire planet and it's people. Your own daughter..." By now, Vexes was trembling with anger, "I can't imagine what it's like to be that powerful, and still look over your shoulder."

_** "ENOUGH!" **_Vexes bellowed, "How dare you speak of my life! You've no idea what it takes to rule a planet! The strong will flourish and the weak shall perish...A harsh lesson you will learn first hand!"

**Meanwhile**

The once peaceful town of Tremerton had become a jagged wasteland in the wake of battle. Jenny deactivated her optic lubricating system to avoid shedding tears at the site of her ruined home. Her advanced optical hardware took in every marred memory that surrounded her. The wounded pedestrians, the burning homes, all took it's toll on her already frayed emotions. _**"CLANG!" **_A hard punch to the side of her jaw snapped her out her emotional daze. She slid and spun around to face her assailant, "Axle..." She grit her teeth behind her metal lips and sneered at the robot standing in-front of her. No longer a friend, but an obstacle, impeding her progress towards her main objective. She slightly clinched her fists while scanning for the familiar, sweet connection her systems had come to enjoy, to crave. It is amazing how fast a human mind can work in instances that require immediate and rash action, even more so for gynoids. She processed back to the sweet, harmonious buzz she felt inside Axle's mind not so long ago. She looked into those solid white, empty optics and her scans received static. For reasons she couldn't readily explain, Jenny suddenly felt like her weight had doubled. In slow motion, she watched Axle no, DV-2 raise his hand straight out and began charging yellow energy into it. Jenny knew that, weather or not this was the real DV-2, she had no choice but to fight. Her family, hell the weight of an entire planet and then some, now feel on her shoulder's and she must protect them, down to the last pulse of her oil pump. Jenny slapped the energy beam up into the atmosphere and out of sight, _"That was a weak attack. Distraction?" _She processed to herself while looking back at the spot where DV-2 had been standing. To her surprise, only a small cloud of dust hung in the air where he once stood. She braced herself for an attack, though she didn't know from where. Suddenly, her proximity alert rang inside her C.P.U. She moved just in time as DV-2 slammed his fist into the ground where she stood. Faster than the average robotic eye could process, he burst through the cloud of dust he created with the impact, sprinting at an incredible speed towards Jenny. She dug her heels in and leaned forward, preparing for impact. DV-2 collided into Jennifer with the force and display of a volcanic eruption, throwing hundred of tons of debris high into the evening sky. The two locked hands in a contest of strength. The ground around them vibrated violently as their artificial muscles heaved against one another, both trying to over power the other, "Wh-what's the matter? I ca-can tell your holding back...What's wrong? Damaged containment field acting up? Ha-having second thoughts?" Jenny strained out.

_**"HHHHHMMMMMM..."**_DV-2 let out a low yet, deep growl from his vocal systems. For a split nanosecond, Jenny swore she felt the connection from earlier. DV-2 capitalized on her momentary distraction and yanked downward, bringing the top half of Jenny's body down while planting a metal rending knee to her mid section that sent her into the air. Jenny caught herself and processed the data she collected in the small exchange. She quickly calculated a new strategy. She ejected several small orbs from compartments on her back and produced several energy guns from various areas on the front of her chassis and opened fire. DV-2 erected an invisible field around himself and charged. Jenny's attacks simply deflected. As soon as he reached her, Jenny, at the blink of an eye, retracted her guns, grabbed his right arm, spun head over heels, and threw DV-2 towards the ground below at an incredible speed. He slammed into the dirt on his back. The orbs Jenny produced closed in on his position. He rolled to the right, out of the small crater he was in and took a defensive stance. The orbs surrounded him but, stopped within ten feet from their target. DV-2 processed the situation, scanning the objects, he saw small, metal doors roll out of the way to reveal black, glass lenses. Each fired a thin, blue line from it's lens. The line's spread out to form small holographic windows. The blue hued displays encircled DV-2 and began to play video images. Images of Brad, Jenny and himself played on some, intimate moments between him and Jenny played on others. The images played and DV-2 lowered his guard, taking in all that he was seeing, processing the scenes. One hologram in particular seemed to garner most of his attention. It was the image of him, placing his hand on Jenny's shoulder when she was inside his mind for the first time. She was crying and he was trying comfort her. Whatever emotions DV-2 my have been processing, it quickly shifted to anger. He snarled at the image and fire his eye lasers, destroying the orb. He balled his fist tight and spun in a circle, firing and destroying all the damnable orbs, **"RRRRRAAAAAARRRRHHHHH!" **He let out a loud cry. Jenny took the opportunity, swooping in from behind, she subdued him in a Full Nelson. DV-2 thrashed around violently, throwing Jenny to and fro as she clung to his back. DV-2 forced his energy out in-front of him and slid backwards at mach three, straight through the remnants of the decimated town and exploding into the side of Tremerton Mall. Jenny held fast until she finally mustered her strength and pulled DV-2 backwards and firmly planted her feet back on the ground. Once she established her footing, she activated the geomagnetic cells in her feet, anchoring her through the planets gravitational field.

"_**I gotcha! Quit struggling!**_ I know your in there Axle! You can beat this!" Axle strained with all his might. He activated his flight systems and tried to carry them both away but, he could not break the bond Jenny had with the Earth, "Vexes may have created you but, she does-doesn't control you! You have a choice! You can override your programing!" Each word seemed to fuel his urge to escape. He funneled every once of power he could into his boosters. The Earth trembled for miles and began to crack and shift. Great quakes rocked the landscape all around them as Jennifer strained to keep them grounded, "C-come on damn it! _**SNAP! OUT! OF! IT!**_" The Earth finally conceded to the two struggling superpowers and it birthed out a mile wide section of itself that Jenny was anchored to. The opponents, and the massive rock, rocketed towards the atmosphere. Jenny dared not deactivate her grip for fear that the rock would crash back down on her friends and family. She was forced to wait until they breached the boundary between atmosphere and space, allowing the lack of gravity to bare the burden before releasing the massive stone. DV-2 cranked up his power core, turning his external body paneling temperature to near sun levels, trying to melt his capture. Jenny detected the maneuver and matched his power level and temperature, canceling out DV-2's attack. Jenny beamed a message to her captive through the silent void, _**"Axle...Th-this is your last chance...I'm sorry but...I can't let you go...Not as long as your under Vexes's control..." **_Jenny trailed off. She shifted her breasts apart about six inches and formed a round, metal ring directly in-front of her power core. With the execution of a small program, she could deactivate part of the containment field around her core and channel it's raw power through the ring as an intense beam of pure solar radiation. With her breast plates pressed against his back, the attack would be devastating, _**"Please, if your in there...If you were ever really there...Give me a sign." **_In a last ditch attempt to reach her friend inside the beast, she forced the image of their most intimate moment into DV-2's C.P.U. To her surprise, DV-2 immediately froze.

_** "I-I...Jenny...I'm s-s-sorry..." **_DV-2 finally replied. He strained out the message in his usual digitized voice, bringing the old connection along with it. Jenny knew she had gotten through as soon as she felt it, _**"Please...K-kill me...I don't want to remain active like this...I don't want to destroy another world..." **_Jenny clung to DV-2 motionlessly, shocked at what she had heard. Not a second later and the connection was lost, replaced, instead, by the static she felt earlier, _**"YYYYAAARRRRRHHH!" **_DV-2 used Jenny's distraction, breaking free of her grip, he grabbed her by the ankle and rocketed back down to the Earth. He impacted her body into the Atlantic Ocean with enough force to throw the water high enough to make the sea floor visible. Jenny, due to the water being pushed a side, had no cushion what so ever and connected with the sea floor. The Earth heaved and cracked, Hydrothermal vents for miles around the impact zone spewed out bursts of magma high into the air. The momentum that peeled back the Ocean slowly waned and the force of gravity teamed with Mother Nature, bringing their immense power crashing back down on the helpless robot girl. DV-2 silently hover above the violent Ocean, scanning the turbulent waters for his prey but, the terrible current's random fluctuations blocked his sensors. The churning waters also hid Jenny's attack, the water around her boiled. She partially deactivated her power core containment field and fired a massive ten foot wide whitish yellow beam of energy that sizzled through the Ocean. DV-2's optic arrays only detected the attack after it broke the water's surface. He had no time to dodge or block, the beam engulfed and pushed him into the clouds. Jenny burst forth out of the water, pursuing her adversary. DV-2 stopped himself inside the cumulus clouds and with a heave of his limbs outward, he dispersed the energy around him in a show of yellow sparks and a small shock-wave. Jenny's attack had stripped him bare of his tattered clothing and synthetic skin, leaving his dull Grey armor underneath exposed in all areas. At the last possible moment, he spotted Jenny coming at him with the force of an Aircraft carrier moving at mach five. He threw a wild left handed punch that managed to connect with Jenny's right. The titanic force of the opposing blows could be heard reverberating on both continents that the Atlantic split. The shock-wave rippled through out the sky, pushing and dispersing the clouds completely out of sight and even touched back down to the waters below, pushing out a large crater in the Ocean. The effect was not lost on the combatants, their arms twisted, rippled, split and cracked. A small mist of hydrological fluid and oil sprayed out from the connecting limbs at the moment of impact along with various small pieces of their armor. Both pulled back there now nearly useless limbs with grimaces on their face plates. Jenny felt the connection once more while DV-2 stared at his mangled appendage.

"_**Look at yourself! Look at me!**_ Your hurting yourself and the one's you care about!" DV-2 shifted his gaze from his hand to Jenny, slowly taking in all the damage to her chassis, "Your in pain...I know because I can feel it to." Jenny's dimmed eye lit back up, her repair systems were doing their job only, they could not keep up with the constant stream of damage that she was receiving. She watched with her now slightly clearer vision at the machine in-front of her. DV-2 dropped his arm limply to his side and opened his mouth as if to speak but stopped. He began to tremble and his faceplate shifted between mixtures of anger and pain. Jenny also felt the connection ebb and flow rapidly from static and back. DV-2 slowly and jerkily raised his hands above his head. Jenny brought up her good arm and turned it into a laser limb. She knew he was struggling with the programming inside but, she also knew that she may never get this opportunity again. She processed this fact while she calculated the exact location of his central processing unit inside his head. Time seemed to slow as she level the barrel of her weapon with his forehead, an all to familiar scenario. DV-2 reached the back base of his metal skull and pushed his fingers through his armor and into his own body. He grasped the vibrating object attached to his spine and with some effort, yanked the piece of hardware out. Jenny let out a gasp as she watched the scene. He twitched and jerked still as he brought his arms down to his sides

"D-damn thing...Has b-been ssssending me c-c-commands..." Axle explained. He crushed the device in his hand and released it to the tides far below, "Can't f-fully override t-the programing." Jenny noted how hard it seemed to be for him to speak as well as the violent tremors that seemed to come and go. This time the connection remained but varied in intensity, "H-hard to focus..." Jenny stowed her laser limb.

"We'll get to my Mom, she can remove the program from your systems." She offered.

"N-no. Not enough t-time. W-we need to stop V-Vexes before she kills Sh-Sheldon." He strained out.

"I thought she was stronger than you? How can we beat her?" Jenny asked.

"I-I don't know but, I ha-have to try." The two scanned the horizon in the direction of Tremerton, locking onto and locating their enemy.

"We'll get you fixed up when this is over. Don't worry." Jenny said with a little smile as they headed towards the battle.

"Yeah..." Axle replied while following behind.

**Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Tremerton**

"Hey, you guys hear that? Kinda sounds like...Choppers." Brad said. Nora shielded her eyes from the sun to see what was approaching them.

"That's Skyway. I recognize the ships color pattern. E class armored transport. Stand down girls." The XJ's lowered their weapons.

"Oh, I hope they have a well equipped mechanical repair station..." Mogg added as he continued to stare helplessly at Kenny.

"If what Sheldon said is true, they probably have to most advanced technology available. We'll get him up and running again, don't worry." Nora rested her hand on the small man's shoulder.

"You sure got a good eye...For such an old dog..." Dale chimed in with no other purpose than to ruffle Nora's feathers and distract from the dire situation. She picked up on this.

"Well, you know what they say about old dogs...You can't teach us new tricks but, we never forget the best ones. I started out doing recon, _**if**_ you remember." Nora retorted while bringing her wrist communicator to her mouth, "XJ-4, how's it going out there?"

_**"HHHHIIIII-YYYAAAAHHH!"**_ XJ-4's voice came through the communicator loud and clear as she landed a powerful left handed punch to a Nightmare, "We're still alive and holding up! Elena and Misty are dealing with Smytus. It's taking everything the rest of us have to hold off these Nightmare things!"

"Keep up the good work. I want you to keep me posted on your situation and..." Nora paused momentarily as if in deep thought, "I love you girls. Stay alive out there." She added before cutting the link. Her lab coat thrashed about in the strong winds kicked up by the heavily armored transport ship touching down beside them.

"You really do love those things you built, don't you Nora?" Dale questioned. Nora answered back with silence.

"Mel! Do you read me Melody!" Brad tried in vain to reach his robotic interest, "I don't know what else to do...I keep calling her but she wont answer." He balled his fists and frowned at his helplessness in the situation.

"Don't worry so much Red...She's a tough ole' bot. She'll be fine." Dale reassured. A large door hinged downward from the bottom of the ship, forming a ramp to the entrance. A few Skyway personnel came jogging from the ship, their weapons at the ready. They formed a protected corridor and motioned for them to board the ship, "I guess we better get on that thing before we wind up casualties of war." Dale let out a small moan from pain as the ground rumbled. Two more Skyway members came down the ramp and ran along the path with a gurney in tow, followed closely by another pair, pushing a much larger gurney on mechanical tracks. It even had a metal arm attached to the side to lift Kenny's heavy body and carry it onto the ship. Carefully, the first two eased Dale down and began to roll him away. Nora followed with the XJ's close behind. Bradly remained steadfast, staring off into the sky.

"Come along Bradly, we must be off..." Nora spoke over her shoulder as she entered the craft. Brad pulled his eyes away from the clouds and glanced at the men hoisting Kenny's frame onto the table. He watched the tears in Mogg's eye's, teetering on the edge of streaking down his cheeks. Surly, he knew the feeling. He felt the same for Melody. After a moment, turned and made his way aboard.

"I wish we were meeting under better circumstances Dale. I am Captain McKenzie of the U.S.S. Johnson, the newest addition to the Skyway fleet. It's truly is an honor. Your sort of a legend back at base." Captain McKenzie complimented. Dale snorted to himself as he spoke.

"The big Johnson huh?" Dale smiled, "Just get me fixed, we'll chat later..." Dale, in no mood to talk, due to his injuries, said while being carted him away. Leaving the Captain behind with his bewilderment, though only for a second as the ground beneath the ship shook once more.

"Alright! Wheels up people! I want this bird in the air now!" Captain McKenzie shouted out in his raspy voice. All personnel within ear shot immediately snapped into action.

"I request a status update on our situation and so help me, if you tell me to fill out a request of status update form..." Nora said in a rather stern tone. McKenzie swallowed as he glanced down at Nora's balled, metal clad fists.

"Th-that wont be necessary, a request of immediate and rash action was filed in triplicate prier to our arrival. All paperwork will be put on hold until the situation is resolved. We've deployed ground troops equipped with weapons based off the designs that were procured from Dr. Locust's destroyed lab. They should be able to damage Vexes but, we didn't have time for proper testing. I've also sanctioned Omega Squadron to carry out an air strike into the hot Zone." McKenzie replied. A slight look of uncertainty passed over the younger man as he looked to the older woman standing next to him, "Nora, I've read about you. You became quit the the strategic combatant before you gave up Skyway to pursue your interests in robotics...This is my first actual combat situation...what do you think our chances are?" Nora pulled her red tinted goggles from her face and cleaned them with her shirt tail.

"I don't know. Right now the fate of this entire planet rests in the hands of a few. I created my children with great care and have _**complete**_ faith in them but...I never intended for them to engage such a powerful opponent..." Nora let out a sigh, "I've never been one of those _**religious **_types but, I suggest praying to your _**omnipotent being of choice.**_ We all have done our best but, it is out of our hands now." Nora replaced here glasses and starred out of a port hole at the flashing lights and explosions of battle in the distance. She could faintly hear Bradly off in the distance, still trying in vain to reach Melody.

**Back at Tremerton**

"_**UHHH!**_**"** Sheldon let out a grunt as his robotic body slammed hard into the ground from the air. He struggled to pull himself to his feet. Badly damaged, his chassis was covered with dents and claw marks. He managed to rise up as Vexes landed in-front him.

"Humans...Why must you always fight the inevitable? You could have had the activation cycle of a _**god**_. Traveling the Universe along side me, creating _**civilizations**_ in our image and..." The witch clenched her fists, "You threw it all away..." She approached the giant robot who seemed to be struggling to remain standing, "Just look at you. You can hardly stand." Vexes, faster than Sheldon could detect, lifted her right leg and smashed her heel into his left knee joint, bending it backwards and shattering it. Sheldon dropped to his right knee as his left folded backwards, "That's right...Bow to your Queen...One last time." Vexes smiled and opened her right hand. She stretched out her talons and allowed arcs of White energy to spark between them. Sheldon braced himself, he knew it was all about to be over. Vexes pulled her hand back to prepare the final strike but, froze. A look of shock spread across her faceplate,_** "DV-2! That fool!"**_ She screeched as she received the signal that her connection to her brood had been lost. Sheldon took advantage of this unexpected reprieve, firing his eye laser, he struck Vexes in the breast plate and sent her skidding backwards. Sheldon managed to stand again despite his damaged leg.

___"My powers down to 30.67%! Think Sheldon!"___Sheldon thought to himself. A proximity alert sounded and he checked his radar, "YES! Better late than never!" Fighter jets streaked over head, releasing their payloads on the entire area. Sheldon had to use quick, evasive maneuvers to avoid the assault as they carpet bombed the battle field. Vexes survived the attack with little more than scratches and minor dings. The jets turned to make another fly by but, Vexes picked them off with her own eye beams as they approached.

_**"MAGGOTS! I'll kill all of you!"**_ Vexes screamed at an approaching squadron of Skyway ground troops. She sprinted at the men, gnashing her teeth and claws but, something grabbed her by the ankle and snatched her off her feet. Her face plate slammed into the ground and her body began to slowly be dragged backwards. She rolled to her back to see what had a hold on her, _**"RRRRRRRAAAAAAHHH!**_**" **She yelled. Sheldon had extended out his arm and grabbed her. She slashed the metal cable dragging her backwards, in half. She grabbed the severed end and yanked it hard towards herself. The action snatched Sheldon off his feet and sent him sailing in her direction, Vexes remained on her back. When his form came over the top of hers, she planted both of her feet into the center of his chest plate. The attack crushed a dent in the emblem on Sheldon's chest and sent him high into the air. Vexes rolled backwards to a standing position and spun to face the approaching human army. The ground troops immediately dropped to one knee and opened fire. Vexes glared at the incoming projectiles without even attempting to dodge. The energy bullets all came to a stop around her and fizzled out, as if it where hitting an invisible barrier. Vexes clapped her hands in-front of her, casting out a massive shock-wave that traveled outward across the ground, knocking the soldiers off their feet. The wave also brought a nasty surprise along with it, an E.M.P. It disabled the humans electronic equipment, including their laser rifles. Vexes turned her pointer fingers, on each hand, into gun barrels and pointed them straight at her enemies, "I'm through with these games...It's time I showed you how insignificant you really are, and how futile your struggle is." She took her time, watching the humans regroup, picking her targets carefully, until just the right moment, "Bang..." She fired one, small, white energy bullet no bigger than a dime, from her right hand. The ball sailed at the poor soul she had singled out, passing through his head with a sizzle. The shot continued through another unfortunate soldier's arm before striking it's intended target. The heavily armored tank approaching from the rear. The energy ball melted it's way inside like a hot knife through butter then, exploded like a cruise missile. Vexes let a slight grin tug at the corner of her metal lips as she opened fire on the remaining forces. Her projectiles had a similar affect on the human body that a shot gun would have on a sheet of wet newspaper, passing through uninhibited, leaving bloody stalks of sizzling meat behind to fall lifelessly to the Earth, "_**Your time has come meat creatures!**_ It is your _**fate**_ to bow before me! And you can _**NOT **_deny fate!"

**Across town**

"_**FOOLS! **_You can't _**possibly**_ hope to defeat the almighty _**SMYTRON! **_Surrender to me and I will make your deactivation quick and painless..." The boisterous Smytus bellowed out through his giant machines external speakers. He swung his massive hand at the small annoyances flying around him. Misty shifted into her mist form and slipped through his fingers. She re-solidified and landed on his forearm. Pressing onward with her assault, she ran along the giant robots arm, towards it's main body. Elena was not as fortunate, she was caught by the attack. The the giant hand's palm batted her away like an insect, she impacted hard with the ground below.

_** "AAAAAHHHH!"**_Misty yelled out in her rage. She was becoming more frustrated by the minute, ever since her first initial attack, Smytus had erected a powerful force field that followed the contours of the huge robot tightly. All of her attacks came to a halt about a foot from her target and the air rippled around her fists as the invisible cushion absorbed her attacks, _"Shit! Nothing I do has any affect!" _She thought to herself.

"Can you not see? This war is _**OVER!**_ You've lost!" Smytus gloated once more, "Face it, robotic organisms are the _**superior beings!**_ The next step in evolution!" He opened his left hand and pointed it down at XJ-4 and XJ-6, who were preoccupied battling the Nightmares, "Those that _**choose**_ to stand in the way of progress...Will be trampled by it..." A rumbling hum so loud that the air seemed to vibrate began to emit from the hand.

_** "NOOOO!"**_Misty could do nothing but watch on in horror as a massive beam of green energy burst out of the giant's hand, heading at the unsuspecting victims. In the blink of an eye, Elena exploded out from the hole her impact had created. She moved lightning quick, placing herself between the beam and her siblings. She braced herself in the air and faced the attack. She cupped her hands together on her right side, purple energy quickly built up in her hands as the beam neared her.

"I came here to kick ass and chew bubble gum..." The energy she was building seemed to peak, "And I'm all out of bubble gum..." She forced her hands out in-front of her as she spoke the last words. The energy in her hands exploded out in a purple beam equally as massive as Smytus's. The opposing forces collided, the ground shook and split with their power. Large chunks of the Earth pulled loose and shatter. Misty had to back away from intense heat and turbulence for fear that she might be pulled into the swirling energies. Elena pushed with all of her energy, the fate of her sisters rested in her hands, she refused to hold back. The mighty Smytron even began to slid backwards across the ground. The two kept up their power struggle until both beams slowly petered out. Elena slowly began to drift back down to the ground, her power supply nearly depleted.

"_**HAHAHAHAHA!**_ Well, well...It seems that this one's got a _**lot **_of _**spunk**_! To bad such vigor will be wasted. You could have made a fine addition to our ranks..." Smytus raised his gigantic fist high above his head, preparing to crush the depleted robot. Misty swooped in and grabbed a hold of his wrist, trying in vain to hold back the attack but, to no avail. She wasn't strong enough. The fist came down with the sheer force of a meteorite impact. Just when it seemed that Elena would pay the ultimate price for the protection of her siblings, a silent, thin, yellow laser melted off the huge arm, just above the elbow, "_**WHAT?**_" Smytus questioned while the appendage crashed to the ground with a resounding thud. He scanned the skies and found two energy signatures. He turned to see his assailant and was greeted with another yellow beam through the head, crippling most of the robot's functions and disabling it's shields.

"_**HEY JEN!**_" Misty yelled out with a smile on her face when she spotted the attacker. Jenny did not reply back as she landed by Elena. Jenny saw her other sisters still fighting off her evil clones. She open her chest and fired a few, quick bursts of raw energy that vaporized their foes. After that, she turned her attention to Elena.

"This is all my fault...XJ-5 and 7...They were deactivated because of me and now...Look at you..." Jenny said as tears formed in her optics. She scanned her sister's damaged body. The other XJ's ran up to her side.

"Jenny! It's so good to see you still active! You got here just in time!" XJ-4 exclaimed. XJ-6 folded her arms in a huff.

"Yeah...You saved the day once again...Thanks.." She said with a slightly annoyed tone, "But I had it under control!"

"Oh, girls..._**sniff**_...I'm so glad your OK." Jenny wiped away the oily drops from her optics. She glanced back down to Elena, "XJ-8? Can you her me?" A few tense seconds passed before her optics opened and she responded.

"Affirmative. Call me Elena. Power levels are below normal operating capacities. Physical damage is moderate_**...Processing...**_" Her response brought a smile to Jenny's face, "_**DANGER WILL ROBINSON! DANGER!**_" She suddenly shouted. All of her siblings detected the incoming attack at that same moment. Jenny spun around to counteract the offense but, she wasn't fast enough. Axle had stopped Smytron's giant foot with his left hand while holding Sheldon in the other. He fired a blast of energy through the foot that sent the giant toppling over backwards. Axle then bent down beside everyone and lay Sheldon on the ground. All of the XJ's looked upon them with hate.

_** "WHAT THE FUCK ARE THEY DOING HERE?"**_ XJ-6, of course, was the first to speak up.

"_**YEAH!**_ Last time we met, the two of you were trying to kill us!" XJ-4 exclaimed while pointing an accusing finger at Axle.

"Everyone just calm down! Both of them were under Vexes's control, but they managed to fight it off! When this is over, we're going to help Axle get rid of the programing _**completely**_ and repair Sheldon." Jenny tried to explain and defend.

"I don't trust him... _**Or **_Sheldon for that matter..." XJ-6 once again spoke up. XJ-4's expression said that she also agreed.

"I can back them up." Misty added while landing beside them, "I searched through Sheldon's head when I was in there, it wasn't his fault." Everyone turned their attention to Axle who was trembling under their stare and the constantly active program he was fighting, "I don't really know what this guy's deal is...All I can say is that what he did wasn't because he wanted to. He's struggling inside."

"I'm sorry f-f-for my ac-actions. I _***zzz* **_will make a-amends...I-I swear." Axle said. Elena pulled herself to her feet, she approached Axle at an uncomfortable distance, starring down her chest at him.

"_**Processing...**_I'll hold you to your word..." Was all Elena spoke before turning back to her family, "We are to damaged to be of significant help...We need to get the wounded away from the area to safety." Her sisters knew it was true, they would be terribly outmatched, even at full strength. She turned to Jenny and placed her hand on her shoulder, "Your main objective, as a Global Robotic Response Unit, may be the protection of this planet and it's inhabitants, but...As my sister, it's your duty to return home to me." Jenny smiled back and opened her moth to reply but Elena removed her hand and turned away before she could. Elena grabbed Sheldon and slung him over her shoulder, "Let's go girls." All of Jenny's siblings followed behind. Jenny watched them all disappear in the distance. She turned to Misty.

"Misty, you better get out of here to..." Jenny suggested.

"Whoa there girl!" Misty replied, "I'm not leaving you behind. Besides, I owe you one for being such an ass back in the day." The two friends exchanged quick smiles, "Well, get going! The world wont save itself!" Misty exclaimed before flying off towards the badly damaged Smytron.

"Smytus is inside that thing! He shouldn't be a problem for you!" Jenny yelled out to her. She turned towards Axle, it was time. Time for the final battle. Their final battle. Neither spoke a word as they rose into the air and rocketed in Vexes's direction.


	12. Faith And Defiance

**CHAPTER XII**

**Faith And Defiance**

_** "A curious thought...When the sky finally does fall down around us. Will we smile for the life we were blessed to live? Or cry for all our achievements never to be?**_

_** R.D.M**_

**The sky's above Tremerton**

"Warning: Power supply nearly depleted. Losing altitude. Initiating memory protective hibernation cycle." Elena spoke rather calmly as she began to lazily drift downward.

_**"Hang on!" **_XJ-6 yelled. She swooped in quickly and took Sheldon from her sister's shoulder. XJ-4 hovered down from above Elena and stopped behind her, matching her altitude. She extended her arms underneath her sister's to support her weight. The added mass forced her to produce an extra rocket engine from the middle of her back to stay aloft.

"We have to hurry! Her power supply is nearly gone!" XJ-4 said in a near panic.

"Just go as fast as you can! I'll contact Mom and tell her we need a repair team ready for us when we get there." XJ-6 said while opening a channel to her creator.

**Aboard the U.S.S. Johnson**

_**"We're coming in Mom!" **_XJ-6's voice suddenly rang out over Nora's communicator watch, "And we're going to need a repair team when we get there!"

"Understood." Nora replied back through the device on her wrist, "E.T.A.?"

"Four minutes, thirty six seconds." XJ-6 replied.

As soon as the words were spoken, Nora ran to a microphone hanging on a wall nearby. She punched in the appropriate code to connect with the docking bay, "Attention personnel..." Nora's voice echoed throughout the hanger over the intercom system, "Open bay three hanger door immediately and have a mechanical repair team on standby. We will be receiving four automatons momentarily. Authorization code: Foxtrot-Milo-Lima." She hung up the microphone and glanced around. The many Skyway personnel within earshot gave her quite annoyed stares for her total disregard of their authority. Nora smiled, more for herself rather than to gloat, "Not to worry boys, it's only my daughters." She spoke while jogging towards the nearest elevator. After only a few brisk paces, something caught her eye, "Bradly?" She said while slowing to a stop.

"Huh? Oh...Hey Mrs. W..." Brad replied with an audible sadness in his voice. Nora's past experience allowed her to easily recognize the look on his face, reflecting from the window he stood before. Pain. Pure and simple. A path well worn in Nora's mind.

"Have you any luck contacting Melody?" Nora asked while approaching the young man, knowing the answer full well by his demeanor. He continued to stare out of the window for a moment longer before responding.

"No...I've tried everything and...All I get is static..." He tried his best to mask his pain with a monotone reply but, Nora's trained ear heard the underlying emotions loud and clear, "I...I lost her..." His last words could not hide his feels. He leaned his forehead onto the glass before him, coming face to face with his own reflection, "I lost everyone...My family...My friends...My love..." His shoulders slumped further downward as he spoke, "I let them all down..." Nora rested her hand on Bradly's shoulder blade as high as she could reach, attempting to comfort him.

"No Bradly, you haven't. I do not know another person who could go through what you have recently and still remain _**standing**_, much-less help as much as you have. I'm sure your father would be proud." She responded.

"_**Look at me!**_ I'm _**bloody**_! I'm _**bruised**_, and I'm _**beaten**_! I ain't a hero like my Dad _**was**_!" Bradly shouted at his reflection as a few tears fell from his blackened eyes onto his dirty face, leaving behind a clean streak as they trialed down his cheek, "I'm not...I'm not the man my father was...Everyone's out there, _**fighting**_ and I'm here and...I can't even find Mel."

"Bradly, you must understand that it is not your duty to live up to your father's name but, I can think of no better way to honor his legacy than to create your own. Strike your own path and become your own man." Nora replied, "Come now, we'll go to the infirmary. Those swollen eyes of yours require immediate attention and I am curious about Dale's status. All my...Most of my..._**remaining**_ daughter's will be arriving soon." Nora offered him as best a smile as possible while motioning him towards the elevator. Bradly wiped his eye's and started in her suggested direction. Bradly ended the short stint of silence that lingered after they entered.

"Do you really think they can do it? Jen and Axle I mean...Do you think they can win? That Mel will-" Bradly began to ask. Nora ended his sentence with a firm answer.

"Yes. I know they will succeed. I have faith that Jennifer will find a way to achieve victory. That Melody will be fine." She replied.

"Yeah but...How do you know?" Bradly asked while leaning against the rear elevator wall.

"As I just said, faith, Bradly, faith." Nora began as the hum of the elevator descending pass different levels of the ship played in the background, "I have faith in Jennifer, as a person, that she is more than capable of handling any task that is laid before her. She has always found a way to win. Melody is strong willed, despite Dr. Locust's wicked ways. She has a goodness in her that few humans possess. Somehow, that quality manages to shine through her dark upbringing. That is the definition of defiance and I believe that they will defy all odds. I have faith in them." Nora replied in a tone that immediately let Bradly know she was speaking from her heart. The elevator came to a halt not a second later. Nora exited first, followed closely by Bradly. She led him through a few twists and turns until they finally reached their destination. The doors to the infirmary slide open and Dale greeted them with a delirious smile. He was stretched out on an examination table while a nurse was busy finishing the bandaging on his ribs.

"I see your well..." Nora commented.

"Yeahhhhh...Pain killers will do that..." Dale responded.

"OK Mr. O'Brien. We're going to keep you in a room over night. The medication should allow you to sleep comfortably. Dr. Sweeney will check on you in the morning." The female nurse informed while exiting the room.

"O'Brien?" Nora asked with an amused smile that could be heard in her voice, "Your name is Dale O'Brien?" Nora placed a fist to her lips to stifle a chuckle, "No wonder you've hidden it all this time."

"Stuff it _**Noreen**_..." He replied, "I'm Irish..."

"OK! Well, I'm just gonna shut this door now..." The nurse awkwardly said.

"Thank god I got a pretty nurse to take care of me in my golden years..." Dale managed to reply sleepily before she could fully close the door.

"Ah, You must be Nora." The kind woman said, smiling through her blushing cheeks while presenting her hand to Nora. Nora obliged, "My name is Sally. Captain McKenzie said you would be stopping by to check on O'Brien. He'll be just fine after twenty four hours of rest." She looked over the short woman's shoulder to Bradly, "My goodness! Are you alright?"

"Well, I-" Bradly tried to explain.

"Earlier this day, he was involved in the current ground conflict." Nora interjected, "From what I have observed, he has minor lacerations on his chest and back, bruising around the ocular cavities, possibly burst capillaries, coupled with abrasions on the face and arms." Nora flatly informed.

"Ah ha ha...Thanks for the information, I'll take it from here." Sally politely replied. She motioned for Bradly to enter an adjacent exam room, "I'll get him taken care of and contact you when we're through." Nora turned to leave but stopped after a few steps.

"By the way, have you seen a man by the name of Phinious Mogg?" she asked.

"Oh, Captain said a man by that name would be stopping in for a stress evaluation test. Something to do with his son a think but, he never showed up." She responded.

"Hmm...Thanks for your cooperation." Nora said with a halfhearted, automatic smile, _"I'll bet he's in the hanger, monitoring Kenny's repair work." _She though as she reentered the elevator.

**Inside the U.S.S. Johnson's hanger**

XJ-6, passing her sister, arrived first. She entered bay three quite fast, digging the tips of her pointed feet into the metal floor. A shower of sparks accompanied her long slide to a halt, _**"I need a mechanic over here!" **_She shouted as she came to a stop, laying Sheldon at her feet as she did. XJ-4 came in only a few moments after, she made a much softer landing and gently placed her sister on the hanger floor. Within seconds, the fore warned repair team reached them.

"XJ's 4 and 6, I need you to report to the rear of bay three. The rest of my team are waiting for you there." A young man, who seemed to be in charge, said while pointing in the direction of his awaiting team.

"We can't just leave them here..." XJ-4, on the verge of tears, said to her sister.

"Don't worry, we are all under international law to aid any and all peoples requiring medical attention at times of war. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't harm any of you or, I would face prosecution and the loss of my licenses." The man informed, "Not to mention the wrath of Noreen Wakeman. You are all in good hands." He gently, yet forcefully, pushed XJ-6 and 4 away from Sheldon and their sister.

"_**Wait!**_ Sheldon Lee is in there!" XJ-4 exclaimed.

_**"You mean there's a person inside this thing?"**_ He spun around to another member of his crew, "Ensign, get the infirmary on the line! we need a Doctor down here immediately!" He barked while the Ensign ran to the nearest intercom mic. The young man began examining Elena as the Mech-station's came to a halt beside the damaged robots. The operators lowered down the heavy duty mechanical arms and picked up Sheldon and Elena. Once the robots were secured, he jogged to the back of bay three.

"What the hell is this thing?" XJ-6, oh so enthusiasticly, questioned the apparatus before her.

"This is an S.D.R chair." An older gentlemen of the repair team informed, "It's specificly designed for automatons, such as yourself. Here, have a seat." The officer helped her into the chair. As soon as XJ-6 sat down, a mechanical arm attached itself to the back of her head for a systems diagnostic. Meanwhile, a cord found its way into her charging port.

"Oh! Wasn't expecting that..." XJ-6 said as the charge cord, unexpectedly, entered her socket. While the chair charged her power supply, a thin horizontal light swept over her, scanning her chassis for damage. XJ-4 watched the entire scene.

"I..is it safe?" She asked her big sister.

"So far so good...It's like...Like I can feel a relaxing wave roll over me.." XJ-6 said as she eased a little more into the chair.

"That's part of the normal process. The program is designed to simulate the feeling of relaxation that humans feel to make the whole experience as pleasant as possible." The man informed while XJ-4 took her seat and started the same procedure. The young man finally made it to the repair area after a brisk jog.

"Whew... Sorry I didn't...introduce myself...I'm officer Weeks. I will be over seeing the repair work..." He introduced himself as the data began to stream across multiple computer monitors. He studied the information carefully, "Hmm... Not a lot of physical damage...System diagnostic checks out OK..." At that moment, the elevator door by the repair station opened and out stepped Nora.

_**"Mother!"**_ XJ-4 exclaimed.

"Hello dears." Nora replied with a smile, "Are you operating efficiently?" She asked.

"Only at 43% I'm afraid..," XJ-4 responded with a frown. Nora turned to XJ-6.

"How about you?" She asked.

"53% Mom..." XJ-6 responded in a huff.

"53% huh? It seems that the golden chips are acting as I expected they would. You two would be in _**much**_ worse shape if we hadn't installed them." Nora replied. The Young man approached her, reading from a clipboard that his nose was planted in.

"XJ units 4 and 6 aren't in any immediate danger. Their damage is minimal, considering the circumstances... XJ-8 seems to have entered some sort of...Low power hibernation-" Nora cut short his assessment by snatching the clipboard from his hands.

"Thank you officer Weeks but..." Nora paused briefly to read the page, "I will be over seeing _**all**_ repair work done on my daughter's." The man perked his eye brow in aggravation.

"With all do respect ma'am, your not authorized to-" Nora silenced the man once more, this time by holding her finger to his face while never looking up from the clipboard.

"I labored in my laboratory for 9 months each building and designing my daughters, I need not your assistance in this matter. Furthermore..." She paused as she turned the page, "I was an active member of Skyway Patrol for 36 years, longer than you have been alive. During my career, I achieved an S class rank for my actions in the first intergalactic war, of which I am a veteran. Do to my _**heroic **_actions, as declared by the president, I was allowed to keep my rank and title upon retirement. So, if there are any concerns about my orders...Please...Feel free to discuss them with Captain McKenzie, who, by the way, I also out rank." The bewildered man's skin quickly shifted to a beet red before turning and storming off to the other part of the hanger. Murmuring, to himself throughout his departure. Nora sat the clipboard down as the mobile Mech-station, carrying her daughter, came to a stop at the repair area. The crane arm lifted Elena's body once more, this time to rest it on a prepared work table for examination. Immediately, the same process that XJ's 4 and 6 underwent, began.

"According to these scans, her external damage is mild to moderate. The real problems lay inside...Seems the entire power supply's been critically damaged." The older gentleman, appearing to be in his mid forties, said while reading information streaming cross his computer monitor. Nora strolled over to read for herself.

"Her...Entire power management system...I-its beyond repair. Over loaded by a massive energy surge that exceeded her design capacities. Thankfully, the backup system is still attached to the memory section of her cortex. She will have to remain tethered to an external power source to sustain her programming until...Until I can devise a means to repair the distribution network." Nora spoke. She removed her red goggles with her right hand while pinching the crown of her nose between her eyes with her left.

"What's wrong? Is she going to be okay?" XJ-4 softly questioned.

"I'll leave you to your family..." The older gentlemen said. He removed himself from the repair area. Nora pondered the situation a moment longer before responding.

"Yes, she will be just fine. The system can be repaired but, the tools I need are inside of my destroyed laboratory. This will be a difficult task without them. Many of the branching power cables run close to delicate electronics and I will have to individually hard wire an auxiliary power source directly into her C.P.U., oil circulation pump and motor control systems. The connections will tether her to the ships power source and can not be severed for even an instance, or else her memory stacks may be completely wiped." Nora glanced at the clock ticking away on the wall, "The procedure must be completed before the last of her reserve power is gone...I'll need a skilled assistant...Sheldon is incapacitated...The repair team is not well enough versed in automaton power distribution systems to be of any use..." Nora's tone turned more and more desperate as the gravity of the situation began to way on her mind, _**"Mogg!"**_ Just as his name left her lips, the short, rotund man stepped into view from the shadows.

"Hello again Nora." He began with a slightly harsh tone, "I couldn't help but over hear you with my voice detection and amplification module." His words also carrying a hint of gloat. Nora shot back a cold stare.

"So, I suppose you've come to _**wallow **_in my defeat?" Nora asked, venom dripping from every word. Mogg simply tucked away the device and strolled to the monitor that Nora was standing before.

"Sorry to disappoint but, no...I'm hear to help you save your daughter." Mogg turned to look at XJ-8 laying on the operating table, "To save Elena."

"You are serious? _**You **_want to help _**me**_?" Nora questioned, "Why? What's in it for you?"

"Redemption..." His emotional dam began crumbling, allowing the pent up feelings to leak into his words, "You were right Nora...To think of them as your own children...We build them, name them, maintain them..."

"What are you babbling on about?" Nora asked, though not displaying so, she was very eager to hear the answer.

"That's why we never got along..." He continued, "You loved building your creations and of course the money from the many design patents wasn't bad either but, you actually loved each one...And I called you a fool...Robotics had always been a source of _**income**_ for me. A...A _**business**_...I now believe that this is why I always failed to out shine you..." Mogg drew in a breath, "When I first began the YK-9 project, It was in order to cash in on the success of your XJ line. I took quite a bit of inspiration from your designs, careful to avoid the legal implications of patent infringement, such as changing the gender...I chose the programming of a canine because it would be easy to create and distribute throughout many robots quickly and it also contained a basic obedience algorithm within it's code...Making mass production possible. I had to tweak the programming of course to keep him from thinking he _**actually**_ was a dog...I gave him emotions...Language...And a rational thought process..." Mogg wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his lab coat, "Before I realized it, I had created a son. That's why I never built another...You were right and I was wrong...I just wish I would have realized that before it was too late..."

"Mogg...What happened to Kenny?" Nora asked, concerned.

"He..He is not with us anymore...Well, not in the sense that you and I are accustomed to...His memory banks were wiped clean...And his programming reset...His body was...beyond repair...The only thing remaining is the original canine program..." Mogg twiddled with the digital watch on his left wrist. Nora took note of the manner in which he gazed at the device, "Do you remember those old digital pets that were all the rage in our youth?" Mogg slightly smiled as he rubbed the image of a puppy playing on the watch screen, "Silly, I know but, It was the only thing I could think of..." Everyone looked on as the man allowed a few tears to fall, "That's why Nora...That's why I want to help you...To earn your forgiveness, I will help you save your daughter." Mogg turned to face her with tear filled eyes, "No one should endure what I have..." Everyone in the area was in stunned silence, never suspecting that Mogg had become so close to Kenny. Nora eyed him for a tense moment.

"Alright. Since Sheldon is incapacitated, you _**are**_ the logical choice. Besides, I have insurance." Nora said while replacing her glasses.

"Y-you have insurance on them?" Mogg questioned.

"Havens no! I mean insurance that you will not _**muck **_with anything during the procedure. My daughter's will be in a low powered state but, they will train their sensors on you. If you so much as twitch wrong, they'll awaken." Nora warned, while typing in a command that sent XJ 4 and 6 into sleep mode, "Now, locate a 480 volt power source we can patch into while I expose the necessary connection points." Nora said as the two rivals, for once, put aside their differences. A few moments passed by while Nora detached the appropriate armor plates. Mogg slowly waddled backwards towards her as he unrolled a thick black cable.

"How is the boy?" Mogg asked, referring to Sheldon.

"Sheldon is in critical yet, stable condition in the infirmary. With out the life support functions of the Silver Shell, he would have died much earlier. He's very lucky." Nora answered.

"Will he live?" Mogg asked. He let the huge bundle of remaining cable drop to the floor and wiped his brow.

"He will live, that is for certain. His body however, is crippled from radiation poisoning. He will be confined to a mechanical suit equipped with life supporting technology for the rest of his life I'm afraid." Nora said while carefully detaching the burned out C.P.U. main line, "Hurry and strip the protective coating off the wires. The battery backup systems wont last forever." Nora instructed. Mogg grunted in protest but, took to the task right away.

"There isn't another _**exo-suite**_ on Earth that has _**all **_necessary life supporting functions to sustain a human long term." Mogg added, "The Silver Shell was one of a kind! And I don't see Skyway placing him back inside of it!" Nora sighed.

"The young man in charge of the repair team is working on _**decommissioning**_ and restoring the suite, stripping it of all weapons. It will have to do until this entire situation is resolved." She explained. A few more silent moments passed before Mogg spoke.

"So...For the sake of conversation, I'm curious..." Mogg began as he removed a small silver object from his pocket, "The Nora _**I**_ know would never install an inadequate power distribution network..." He pressed a button on the object in his hand. A small, purple energy blade about four inches long quickly juts out, "How did she manage to burn out her entire system with less than 100% power remaining?" He asked. Nora frowned.

"The data from the diagnostic revealed what I had suspected, a sudden spike in the emotional response portion of her C.P.U., did occur. She somehow shut off all safety protocols that would have otherwise prevented this situation, causing her main power to combine with the energy stored in her back up systems. Without those protocols, her internal engine was also able to rev up to a much more dangerous operating speed, the sudden rush of power wasn't the problem, it was the length of the surge." Nora said while snipping off a piece of charred wire, "I designed a means to deal with sudden power level fluctuations, but not for long periods." Nora carefully removed a final protective cover, attached directly over the main connection point, "The site of her siblings in peril triggered a purely emotional response that overrided her fail safes." Nora held her hand out towards Mogg, her eyes never leaving Elena's C.P.U. Mogg handed her the prepared wires, "Thus exceeding her design specifications." She continued as she grabbed a soldering iron and quickly began making the connections.

"Do you feel that?" Mogg asked with the barely audible sound of bending metal echoing over their heads. Nora glanced around, the floor beneath her feet vibrated for a split second, "Are we under attack?" Another tremor, slightly more noticeable, quickly passed.

"No, there are no alarms sounding. Judging by the vibration frequency, I would have to say it's a _**reverberation**_, like a shock-wave of some sorts..." Nora pondered.

"A shock-wave? From what?" He asked, "We're a hundred miles from the nearest cold fusion plant..."

"Shock-waves of kinetic energy produced from high velocity impacts." A quick tap on the side of Nora's red goggles turned them into dark black welding shades, "Results of the battle taking place."

"_**Impossible!**_" Mogg huffed in disbelief, "We're at least twenty miles from the hot zone! There is no way that XJ-9 could stand against that kind of power!" Nora let the the smile spread across her lips.

"You _**obviously **_have no idea what my daughter is capable of..." She replied.

**Meanwhile, at the same time in Tremerton**

Jenny and Axle scanned the horizon as they came streaking out of the sky. Jenny's power surged at the site her C.P.U processed. Tremerton's lookout point and grand centennial seismograph, cherished landmarks from her memory banks, lay in pieces. The many dead soldiers and civilians laying about framed the mental image, making for quite a scene. Her systems automatically ran through a profile list of the towns residents, declaring them diseased as she scanned the bodies. A few microseconds later and both, Jenny and Axle, crashed feet first into into the ground behind Vexes. The two machines steadied their stances, as the Earth vibrated underneath them. Carefully, they scanned every twitch of the mad Queen, prepared for an attack at any moment. Vexes was currently preoccupied with the body of a soldier, her back facing her foes was covered in blotches of deep red. She held the body up with her left hand gripped around it's neck. She slowly placed her right hand on the man's ribs and squeezed her hand. Her sharp talons easily allowed her to crush her fist closed into the bodies rib cage, causing Jenny to cringe at the site and sound. She scanned the bloody mess of bone, muscle and lung in her hand.

"I've heard the human expression, _**"It's what's inside that counts."**_, and decided to see for my self..." Vexes continued to stare at the mush in her hand, "After scanning 23 different human remains, I have found only a .1345% variance in internal structure." She glanced over her shoulder at Jennifer, "Don't you see? They're all the same...On the _**inside**_." She let the limp body fall from her hand to the ground. Jenny's scanners automatically pulled up the soldiers profile in her H.U.D. Jenny cringed a little once more when the status changed to deceased, "Why? Why do you cling to them? Why do you desire to be one with _**creatures**_ who _**reject**_ you? Beings whose logic tells them to foolishly throw away their lives at the feet of a power they should be kneeling before?" Jenny twitched slightly and firmed her stance.

"I can see what you can't. What you never could. I've seen the good intention in the minds of my friends, and love in the heart of my mother. I see their potential..." Vexes frowned, "There's more to life than this Vexes...There's love and anger. There's hope and laughter. I...I wish you could have seen that, for Vega's sake..." Vexes snapped her hand closed. The bone fragments made a muffled, wet crunch.

"Oh my...You seem to have mistaken me for a being that has a _**heart**_..." Vexes growled, "Your words are _**useless**_! Just like the humans you defend..." Vexes turned to face her rival and brood. The sight sent a shock through both hero's systems. Her chassis was dripping with the gore of battle, "I will crush _**all **_organics..." She shifted her optics to her son, "And anyone who stands in my way." The ground trembled beneath their feet. Axle detected a sharp increase in the air temperature. Vexes smiled, "Look at you two. Cracked, dented, and covered with your own oil...DV-2 can barely stand..." She took a step towards them, "What do you honestly hope to accomplish?" She took another step forward and flung the wet mess to the ground at her feet, sounding out with a sickening splat, "I'm willing to make a deal however..." She locked her target reticules on Jennifer, "Bring me the head of your creator Noreen Wakeman and agree to leave this planet with me, _**willingly**_...And I will let your friends live alone on this desolate rock when I leave." Jenny squinted her optics in anger and raised her power level.

"Never." Jenny responded while yellow electricity cracked around her fists. Vexes smiled wider. Thunder clapped loudly over head as the massive amount of heat they were producing collided with the cooler, moist air.

"_**Ha! **_I was hoping you would say that." Vexes said as a single drop of rain fell on to her breast plate. The three stared intensely at each other. The pitter patter of the falling droplets grew increasingly loud as the rain intensified. Suddenly, Jenny made her move and the world around them ground to a halt. The rain drops appeared to suspend in the air, due to the speed at which she was moving. She fired two blasts of yellow energy from her hands. Vexes stood her ground, the blasts struck her left and right shoulder and deflected into the air, leaving black scorch marks on her armor. Axle flew across the ground to Vexes's right side, trying to flank her in the distraction. Vexes saw through the deception. Before Axle could come to a complete stop, Vexes extended out her right arm and caught him by the throat. She flung her arm like a bullwhip, flinging Axle high into the air and back down into the ground hard enough to send soggy bits of debris out of the crater he was now in. Vexes snapped her arm back to normal and turned to Jennifer, "Clever attempt but not-" Vexes cut her gloating short and her optics grew wide.

"Thanks for the compliment." Jenny replied. She had merged her arms together into a rail gun and had a one pound blue metal ball charged to fire. Vexes erected her energy shield and through up her arms just as Jenny fired her weapon. The projectile struck at mach 5. The impact was enough to shatter her shield and overload it's generator. The force shoved her backwards for a quarter mile, digging a trench out with her heels until she stopped.

"Impressive..." Vexes spoke to herself. An alert sounded in her C.P.U. She looked up to see Axle charging head on from above. Axle heaved out a devastating blow with his undamaged arm. Vexes easily caught the attack and dug her sharp claws into his hand, "63% power is not going to cut it _**son**_..." Oil leaked from the gashes, "Such a shame your containment field is damaged..." Axle grit his teeth while slight creaks sounded from his fist as Vexes squeezed tighter, "I truly wanted to see how your prototype system compared to mine but, _**all **_defective units _**must be destroyed!**_" She slammed her free fist into the center of Axle's chest. The blow cracked his chest plate and sent him hurling into the sky and out of sight. Vexes's warning sounded again. This time, her sensors indicated an attack from below. She jumped just in time to avoid Jennifer as she burst forth from the Earth where she just stood. Vexes stomped her heel onto Jennifer's head, knocking the paint off her metal skull, between her pigtails. Jenny responded by rotating her pigtail engines around and quickly firing a launch thrust sequence. A hot pulse of ionized plasma struck the inner thigh of Vexes's right leg. Bright sparks of white and blue, charred bits of armor, burst out as Vexes was sent into the air, "You little _**bitch!**_"

_**"AAHH-HHAAA!" **_Axle scream. He slammed into Vexes from above, ramming his right shoulder into the small of her back. Vexes smashed through the local library and embedded in the foundation. The building collapsed in on her. Jenny pulled herself from the ground and hovered into the air, beside Axle.

"Nice. Do you detect her?" Jenny asked.

"Yes *_**zzzzzzz***_ her energy s-signature is growing." Axle responded, "W-ait! It just disappeared!" Jenny's sensory system immediately snapped to 100%, instantly scanning an area of 360 degrees for 30 miles.

_** "Shit! Move!" **_She yelled. She managed to use her stretchy arms and extend-o-fingers to shove Axle out of the way just as a kaleidoscopic tunnel tore open the sky where he once hovered. A clawed hand swung out from the vortex, claiming Jenny's left pinkie before she could fully retract her appendages, _**"AAHHH!" **_Her systems buzzed with damage reports as her metal digit fell to the ground, small bites of oil trailing behind it.

"Oops...Butter fingers." Vexes gloated with a smile while exiting the portal. Axle recovered his balance. Jenny readied a defensive stance, placing her oily hand out in front, "Good Jennifer, I can tell your getting use to your new body, your new..._**power**_, fairly quickly...Try not to loss your _**cool**_ this time." Jennifer grit her teeth behind her artificial lips, "We wouldn't want another _**meltdown!**_"

"Oh, there's going to be a _**meltdown **_alright..." Jenny deactivated her power dampening field completely, increasing her output to 100%, "But it will be your main processor this time!"

"A bit _**sensitive**_ aren't we? Ha ha...Your power is insignificant next to mine! Besides..." Vexes retracted her claws. Her voice and demeanor took on a more sinister tone, "You can't even touch me." She dropped down into another portal underneath her and disappeared.

"_**Damn it! **_Shields up!" Jenny exclaimed. Axle heeded the suggestion. Tense microseconds passed.

"_**Behind you Jennifer!**_" The witch's voice fell upon Jennifer's audio receivers, close enough to activate her proximity alert. Jenny instantly spun backwards, swinging a wild backhand to her left as she rotated. Her fist only struck the rain falling around her, "_**To slow!**_" Her voiced was heard again but from a different angle.

**"**_**AAARRHHGGG!" **_Jenny turned to Axle's location but, by the time she had a lock, it was to late. Vexes had blasted a one inch diameter hole through Axle's left shoulder. Hot sparks of metal burning white hot burst from the wound and, just as quickly, she was gone. Axle flew to Jenny, "I...Can't keep _***zzzz* **_up." Axle informed.

"Yeah, we have to work together more efficiently if we're going to beat her." Jenny suggested. Suddenly, she had a brainstorm, _"Hey, I'll scan your back and you scan mine!" _Jenny beamed a silent, message to Axle. She stepped behind him and pressed her back against his, _"Set your air pressure and spacial distortions sensors to maximum sensitivity. We'll sync our readings via blue-tooth and tune our energy shields to the same frequency, that way, we'll both know whats going on and be well protected."_ A solid plan. It took mere seconds to set it in action. The two sat hovering in the air, protected by their dual energy shields, scanning everything within one hundred miles. Vexes's voice let out a random laugh in various spots around them but, the duo could never seem to get a lock on.

_"The rain is causing to much static on my spacial distortion grid and the damn wind is messing with the air pressure!" _Axle exclaimed through the link. Just then, a clawed metal hand slashed the shield in-front of Jenny's face, leaving a trail of electrified claw marks on it's surface. The shield status widget in her H.U.D. dropped to 83%.

_"Try gravitational distortions specificly. She's using a lot more power than before to move even faster. She's got to be leaving a trail of gravity wells, small holes where she once stood that gravity hasn't filled yet. If we can find those, we may be able to calculate her next arrival point." _Jenny suggested. Axle changed his settings and began scanning once more, _"Just curious but, how come your speaking fine now?"_ Jenny asked.

_"My external speaker is damaged, not my wireless communications system." _Axle answered, _"Above us!" _He shouted, just as he had finished speaking. Jenny looked slightly upwards at Vexes.

"It's very rude to lock yourselves up and trade wireless signals." Vexes cooed, "Lets get everything out in the open, shall we?" Her entire body crackled with red electricity. Axle opened up two compartments on his shoulders, two mini-guns rose out of his body and began firing on the evil robot. Unfortunately, the rounds had little effect. They merely bounced off in all directions. The witch kneed their protective ball of energy, sending it sailing out of town at mach 3. The two flew parallel to the ground for a few miles, struggling to slow themselves against the momentum. Vexes passed them in mid air and stopped a quarter mile out in-front and waited for their arrival. When they finally reached her, she did a back-flip, connecting the sphere with a small red ball of energy on the tip of her foot. The extra momentum, along with the added explosive force, slammed the duo into the ground below harshly. Large clumps of soaked Earth were tossed asunder, carving out a deep divot. Vexes landed with a splash in a ankle deep water puddle. Jenny's shield status indicator changed to 42%, "I'm impressed to see your shields still standing." She mocked, "You must think your so..._**Safe**_..." Jennifer received very strange readings from Axle just before her connection turned to static, "DV-2 may have removed my direct operational control module, but the programming and receiver is still there and can still receive signals." Jenny turned to Axle, shock carved across her metal face. Axle began to twitch and shake. Jennifer had no choice but to take a defensive stance, "What will you do now that your shield has become a cage?" Axle made one violent twitch before swinging at Jenny. She blocked the attack with her forearm. The shield shattered into the wind in a bright display of digital blocks that dissipated as they scattered. Jenny slid backwards a few yards.

"Son of a bitch..." Jenny said to herself while Vexes cackled madly in the background.

**Meanwhile, on the other side of town**

Misty had condensed her mist into large clawed extensions of her own hands and pried open the chest of Smytus's giant robot. Diligently she carved her way inside until one last inch thick wall stood between her and the source of evil she sensed. She stabbed her mist into the wall and pried open a passage way, _**"Welcome!" **_Smytus greeted her with a hand held energy cannon and a rusted, jagged smile. Misty only had time to widen her eyes before the blast of green radiation hit her. The attack sent her hurdling out of the chest in a storm of metal shrapnel and purple haze.

_**"UUUGGHHH!" **_Misty hit the ground on her back with a hard thud. Her clothing tattered and body scrapped from metal she was forced through. She propped herself up on her elbows to catch her bearings, Smytus was not going to let that happen. He burst out of the opening and landed on his feeble legs in-front of Misty. A long cable, glowing a slight green in hue attached to the middle of his back, trailed behind him.

"Aawww...Did the little Terraconian fall down?" Misty sneered at her opponent, "I expected more from a Mist Walker..._**Get up**_ _**Ahurian!**_" Smytus demanded. He fired three quick bursts where she lay. Misty rolled, heels-over-head, to her feet and hopped backwards to avoid the shots. She took a stance as he fired more shots. She focused her energy and batted the energy beams away with her forearms, burning away the remainder of her long sleeves.

"How the _**fuck **_do you know where I'm from? What I am?" She demanded from him.

"Heh heh heh...Surprised? I know all about your species...Do you think the Star-birth project was our first endeavor with genetic technology?" Misty could hear the rusted joints and gears grinding as he grinned, "The tales of the Terraconian Mist Walkers made their way to Cluster Prime _**centuries**_ ago! Surly you know the legend of the 'Horn Beast?" He asked.

"I've read the hand written scrolls passed down through the Ahurian blood line... The Beast was drawn to the power of the Mist Walkers. Killing them all in an attempt to steal the mist for it's self but, he could not obtain the power. It released from their body's and dissipated in the air around him. In it's anger, the Beast rampaged throughout the lands. When all hope seemed lost, the mist returned and chose a worthy vessel to contain the combined might of all the elder Mist Walkers. The first of common blood to ever hold the power. My ancestor. Magnus. He destroyed the Beast's army of demons and drove the Beast from the planet. In the years after the battle, the power of the mist divided amongst the descendents of his bloodline...The Ahurians. Now...Answer my questions!" Misty yelled.

"_**AHAHAHAHA! **_Don't you get it? I _**AM **_the Horn beast! I was dispatched to your _**mud-ball**_ to find the secrets of the Mist Walker! I _**slaughtered**_ your elders! I _**ravaged**_ your people! A _**weak**_ race of _**organics!**_ That idiot got lucky!" Misty tightened her fist, enraged by the insult, "No matter...I can finally _**rectify **_that error by destroying his descendent!" Smytus charged the cannon in his hands and fired a highly concentrated beam of green energy. Misty stood her ground. She pushed her hands out forward and stopped the blast in her palms. The violent impact slid her backwards until she managed to dig her feet into the Earth and stop herself. Smytus frowned in disappointment, "Little organism, you have a mere fraction of the power Magnus had. How can you even process standing up to me when I murdered so many of your people?" Smytus turned the power up to maximum, the cable attached to him glowed brighter. Misty bared her teeth in anger. The wind around her swirled into a purple tornado. She tensed her stance and ripped the beam in-half and turned into mist before the remainder could strike her. Smytus seen her move and erected an energy shield around himself. Misty collided with the force field and enveloped it in her mist, blocking Smytus's vision, "_**Fool! **_Your Mist can't penetrate electric shielding!" Smytus gloated.

"Truuueee but, I don't have toooo." Misty reformed the upper half of her body, grabbed the cable connecting him to his robot's power supply and ripped it in-half. Green radiation erupted out, hitting Smytus's shield. The explosion sent him flying across the ground. When he finally came to a stop, his shield flicked and faded out. He groggily looked up from the dirt to see Misty standing in-front of him.

_**"You have no idea what you've done!"**_ Smytus yelled.

"Your right...But I know what I'm about to do..." She turned to mist and entered his body, "I'm going to seeee what the destroyer of worlds fearsssss mossssstttt..." Smytus twitched violently on the ground as visions of the towering black form of Magnus crushing him under his heel flashed through his processor. Misty left his body and reformed over the shaking robot, "How ironic...Scared to death of the power you wanted...It ends where it should have so long ago...At the hands of a Ahurian." She turned her right arm into mist, channeled it into his chest and re-solidified her hand, gripped his oil pump. She frowned on the pathetic automaton for a moment before violently ripping the device from his chest in a shower of oil, wires, and metal. Smytus gasped out a glob of black oil while laying in a growing puddle of his own fluids. 

"Y-you are still...Doomed...F-fool..." Smytus said through his failing systems, "Heh...I'll see you in Hell...Real soon..." The light faded from the robots eye's as it's head fell lifelessly to the ground.

_"What the hell was he talking about?" _She thought before noticing a rumble behind her. She turned just in time to see a blinding flash of green light as the reactor of the Smytron robot reached critical mass. With no time to react, Misty's form disappeared in the intense light as the powerful energies at ground zero of the blast enveloped her body.


	13. Ashes To Ashes

**Chapter XIII**

**Ashes To Ashes**

_** "And one day, we shall all awake from this dream of mortality. We will walk in the footsteps of creation, with direction in our step, power in our hands and conviction it our hearts. Our eyes will see wonders, and our minds will understand unknowns."**_

_** R.D.M. **_

**The battlefield of Tremerton**

"Don't fret Jennifer, there will be no _**death**_ for you..." The metal witch cooed in her most tempting voice, "When the ashes fall from this little mess, I will breath new life into you and welcome you into my family...No more will you be forced to endure the pain, sorrow, and remorse these meat creatures dwell in, only..._**Satisfaction.**_"

_**"You'll have to deactivate me first!"**_ Jenny, defiantly, yelled. She charged at the metal vixen, her feet pounding out large divots of moist dirt with each powerful step she took, trailing streams of water, shed from her body as she sped through the rain, towards her target. Vexes confidently smiled, not bothering to move even as Jenny reached striking distance. She didn't even hesitate when Jenny's left fist reached within a foot from her face plate. In the blink of an artificial eye, a small, multicolored rift appeared between Vexes's face and her assailant's fist. A coal gray metal hand extended out and stopped her attack, rippling the rain for a hundred yards around them. Jenny froze in shock for a split nanosecond as the rift opened wide, allowing DV-2's body to materialized fully in-front of her.

"_**Mawh Ha Ha Ha Haaaa!**_" Vexes cackled, "Did I mention that DV-2 is equipped with my transportation technology? Of course, I added a fail safe that only _**I**_ can over ride." DV-2 snatched her hand towards his left, spinning Jenny around. With her back facing him, he planted his right foot squarely in the small of her back. Jenny slid forward across the wet ground for a short distance before managing to stop herself. She spun back around, her teeth clinched and fist balled, ready to try again but, noticed DV-2 was gone. Suddenly, DV-2 materialized behind her and threw his right arm around her neck and locked the arm in with his left, cinching in a tight chock hold. Jenny remained motionless, her optics never leaving Vexes. No need to over react when you don't breath, "This would be _**much**_ simpler if you would power off. The reprogramming process is...relatively painless." Vexes informed calmly, "Well, less painful than the _**alternative**_..."

"And let you brainwash me like you did to Sheldon?" Jenny replied flatly, "No, thanks."

Vexes chuckled, "Scorn made an efficient commander and a..._**energetic**_ _**partner**_." The mad Queen's smile deepened, showing a small portion of her fangs, "I've had various _**romps**_ throughout my life cycle but, your friend however...He seemed to really _**enjoy**_ the _**mechanics**_ of my body." Vexes began walking towards Jennifer, "You really missed out all those years Jennifer...His is very _**good**_ with his hands...And to think, he use to be _**so**_ in love with you. That doesn't..._**Upset**_ you, does it..._**Jennifer**_?" Vexes weaved her words well, forming a temptingly seductive insult only she, the master of words, could create.

"Ha ha ha..." Jenny softly chuckled in a low tone to herself, though Vexes heard her none the less. Jenny calmly reached up to her face a grasped a dangling piece of synthetic skin, hanging loosely from her earlier scuffles, and pulled it from her chin.

"Is something funny Jennifer?" Vexes questioned as she halted her advance. A silent moment passed while the piece of silicon flesh fell to the ground before Jennifer replied.

Vexes perked her optics in surprise, "I understand you now...You despise organics. You consider them _**inferior**_...Then, I came along. Your _**superior**_, birthed from the creatures you hate and built by the hands of your nemesis, Noreen Wakeman...How dare the worms create gods right? Everything you hate about them was suddenly personified. You had a focus for your anger but, you could not beat me, and with every defeat, your determination and hate grew." The anger in Vexes's eyes could be clearly read, "Look at you. You've even designed your body after me. Your _**obsessed**_ with me...Admit it, the very idea of an emotional, _**free**_, rational thinking robot..." Vexes clenched her fists and scowled, "A robot you can't _**control**_...A robot so..._**Human**_. It scares the hell out of you, doesn't it? _**I **_scare the hell out of you..." The falling droplets sizzled on Vexes's chassis. A clear indication of her rising temper, "That's why you keep playing this game. Why your keeping me alive now. Because it's so important to you that I become like you. That I become...A _**machine**_." Vexes simply continued her cold stare, "You win...I wont hold back anymore. Your _**son**_ doesn't stand a chance against me in his current state, and you know it." Jennifer could hear the scraps from Vexes's hands as she tightened her fists, "Call him off now so we can settle this, or I'll deactivate him." Vexes didn't budge. She folded her arms and revealed a nervous, halfhearted smile.

"A bold _**bluff**_..." Her cracked optic twitched almost imperceptibly, "Very well...Amuse me." Vexes called what she had determined to be Jennifer's bluff. As the words left the evil Queens mouth, DV-2 instantly vanished and reappeared in-front of Jenny. He rushed at her with a wild left handed blow that crackled with yellow energy. She easily sidestepped him and, in the blink of an eye, grabbed his arm as he passed. She stepped in behind him, twisting and shoving his arm into the small of his back. She received a painful shock from his defensive systems, causing her to lose her grip. DV-2 spun around while throwing a violent punch with his right hand. Jenny caught his fist, oil from her missing finger splattered across her face with the impact.

"Forgive me..." Jenny softly spoke while simultaneously beaming the message into his static filled C.P.U. She crushed her fingers into his hand for grip and, with moderate effort, freed it from his body in one swift motion. Half of his forearm went with it in a violent explosion of sparks and oil. DV-2 clasped the oil spewing metal stump with his damaged arm from their prier skirmish and fell to his knees, his body failing from rapid loss of oil pressure. Vexes, even before she processed what she was doing, opened a portal and appeared behind DV-2. Jenny, after noticing Vexes, quickly snatched up DV-2 by the throat, his back facing Vexes, "This is what you wanted _**right?**_ _**To twist me into a monster?**_" Jenny Yelled through the lubricant in her optics, "Let's see how _**human**_ _**YOU**_ are!" She pulled back her right hand and slammed it into the center of DV-2's chest plate. A thunderous roar accompanied the distinct crunches and moans of heaving metal, emanating briefly from his chest cavity on impact. Chunks of metal paneling from DV-2's back pinged off of Vexes's armor, accompanied by droplets of oil splattering across her chest and face plate. The light in DV-2's optics slowly flickered as he twitched and began to loss strength. Jenny pulled her fist from the deep dent in his chest, directly above his power core, and released her grip, letting the lifeless robot fall with a heavy thud. The two rivals briefly scanned the husk lying at their feet. Through their eye's, they could clearly see the vivid glow of radiation from his power core slowly pulse, growing dimmer with each quiver until, finally, it blinked out completely and the containment field around it shattered. Jenny realized that she was breathing in and out very quickly and heavily, an action she had acquired from observing her human friends. Unnecessary she knew but, it did serve the purpose of emergency cooling and it helped her remain calm. The small trickle of oil from the deactivated machine mixed with the rainfall to create a vivid swath of rustic brown along the ground. Vexes slowly scraped away the oil from her face plate with her steel hands and scanned the liquid in her palm, "His oil is on _**your**_ hands now! _**Are you satisfied?**_" Jennifer yelled at her, "The only thing left is for you and I to end this! _**FOR GOOD!**_" Vexes slowly shifted her gaze back to Jennifer. Jenny deployed her razor-rangs, her pigtails zipped at Vexes. She snapped from her daze and deflected the attacks as soon as they were within arms reach, one with her left hand the other with her right. Jenny followed up by cartwheeling at Vexes in her distraction, springing off of her hands with her final flip and into a kick. Vexes took to the air and let her attacker pass underneath her. Jenny was operating at 100% and saw her movement. She grabbed Vexes by her ankle as she passed and hurled her to the ground in-front of her. Jenny brought her knees up to her chest, using her momentum to carry her over Vexes. She stomped at Vexes's head with both feet as she passed above. Vexes faded away into the ground before the attack struck. Jenny's attack exploded the Earth in a huge display of debris. The witch appeared behind Jennifer who turned just in time to catch her wrist before her clawed hand could slash her metal spine in half. Vexes faded away before her eyes once again. Jenny grit her teeth in frustration. She was growing tired of this game.

"You can't keep this up forever! I am _**stronger!**_ I am _**faster!**_" Vexes's voice bounced around the area. Jenny processed and saved each location, calculating the next most likely point of origin, "I _**will**_ _**WIN!**_ A new Hive will arise from the _**ashes of your planet!**_" Jenny stood her ground, ignoring the gloating, studying her movements.

_"Keep on talking..." _Jenny processed to herself.

_**"AND YOU WILL WATCH IT ALL BURN!" **_Vexes screamed.

She finally had all the information she needed, _**"TAKE THIS YOU FUCKING BITCH!" **_Jenny yelled. At a mind boggling pace, she open up the armor panels on her shoulder blades, fired her main propulsion engines and zipped along the ground as a blue streak. Just as she had calculated, a rift appeared in front of her and Vexes's form materialized. The witch had no time to react. Jenny struck her in the abdomen at mach six. Vexes's chassis yielded to the forces of the blow and crushed around Jenny's fist. The Earth erupted, birthing trees, roots and all, from it's surface for a mile. Vexes was shoved back into her portal and violently ejected from another one a short distance to Jenny's left. In an instant, Jennifer took to the air. Her left hand transformed into a long metal spike. She dove in from above at her enemy. Victory riding on the tip of her spear.

_**"ENOUGH!" **_Vexes screeched. In microseconds, she grabbed the point of Jennifer's spear before it struck and rolled to the right. The shaft snapped and Jennifer plowed into the ground where Vexes laid. Vexes hopped to her feet, still clutching half of Jennifer's spear. Jenny pushes herself to her hands and knees inside the crater, shaking off the static of impact inside the cloud of dust.

_**"AAHHH!"**_Jenny screamed in pain after receiving a vicious kick to her metal ribs. The blow tossed her from the hole and a few meters away on her back. It wasn't the initial hit that caused her pain. The mad Queen had fired a deceptive byte of program from a small spike on her foot as she struck. The malicious code caused her pain receptors to briefly overload and scream in agony at her C.P.U.

"Change of plans I'm afraid Jennifer..." Vexes walked over to Jenny, "You know...I _**was **_just going to _**force**_ you to _**kill**_ Wakeman after your reprogramming, but..." Vexes tossed the pointed shard into the air. It spun and landed back in her palm with an audible clank. The point hanging out of the bottom of her fist, "The more I process about it, the more I believe it would be _**better**_ if I made you _**watch**_ while I _**SKIN HER ALIVE!**_" She yelled. Vexes quickly raised the spike above her head and thrust it downward, Jennifer rolled to her front and fired her rockets in an attempt to out maneuver the strike but, she wasn't quite fast enough. The foot long piece of metal struck the back of her right knee joint and exited through her knee cap.

_**"GGAHHHH!" **_Jenny screamed in pain again. The shock to her systems caused her to lose focus and her rockets disengaged. She slide to a stop on the ground in a trail of dust, clutching the destroyed knee.

"Still running your touch simulation program? How..._**Human**_." Vexes retorted flatly. Jennifer just sneered through her pain at the witch as her razor-rangs finally caught back up and reattached themselves to her C.P.U. housing, "It would be much more _**efficient**_ if you deactivated such useless programs, but then...I wouldn't be able to _**ENJOY THIS!**_" Vexes took a few quick strides at Jennifer. Jenny, in a heroic display, yanked the spike from her leg and dropped it to the ground. She forced her shattered gears to heave herself upright. She caught Vexes's right fist with her left hand but, at the cost of a powerful blow to the abdomen. The blow caused Jennifer to double over and receive a firm knee to her forehead as she leaned forward. The blow pressed a quarter sized dent into her C.P.U. housing and the momentum flung her head back so quickly, that her feet left the ground, the back of her cranium connected with the Earth. Vexes moved with such speed that Jennifer seemed to be balancing on her head, as she strafed around from what was now Jennifer's back, to her front. A swift kick to the side of her face knocked out a few metal teeth and spun her right side up again. Vexes fired her eye lasers and cut off Jennifer's right pigtail. Jenny finally managed to clear her processor and focus. She produced a spare hand from her left arm to replace the one Vexes took. Just in time to block a kick, then a punch and another kick. In seconds, the two were exchanging blows and blocking each others attacks at a mind numbingly fast pace. The Earth trembled more and more as they traded close range blows with ever increasing speed. Vexes was beginning to winning the battle and, despite her best efforts, Jenny could not quite keep pace with her adversary. Her chassis dented in with each unblocked hit that slipped through her guard and the sporadic divots of impact became more frequent on the front of her body. She threw one last punch at the Queen but, the difference in their power was clearly made as the attack stopped dead in Vexes's palm, _**"It's over!"**_ She yelled. She released Jennifer's hand and rotated counterclockwise, extending her right arm outward as she spun. With the back of her fist mere inches from Jennifer's faceplate, Vexes faded back into one of her portals, leaving Jennifer bewildered. Vexes appeared behind her. She capitalized on Jennifer's confusion and, in the span of microseconds, she pointed her arms straight out in-front, turning them so the back of her hands touched. She stiffened her sharp, pointed fingers and thrust them into a small seam in Jennifer's armor, were her shoulder met her torso. Once she penetrated deep enough for grip, she grasped the opposing edges of armor and pried them apart. Though the action took less than a second, it seemed to happen in slow motion to the victim and attacker. Jenny's body gave to the forces applied to it and the framework of her shoulder shattered. The various oil tubes, coolant hoses, and electrical circuits attached to the limb stretched to their limit and burst in a shower of fluid and sparks. Her artificial ball and socket joint heaved and bent, the metal grunted under the stress and pulled free with a loud pop. A large amount of oil splashed across the ground following the violent ejection of Jennifer's arm. The appendage struck and twitched on the ground behind her as Jenny staggered forward, trailing a steady stream of oil and coolant while she stumbled. Her emergency systems closed off all electrical, coolant and oil supplies to the damaged area as her main processor tried to cope with the shock. Jenny managed to catch herself in the midst of her stumbling and slowly turned to Vexes, "Your artificial pain receptors must be working overtime now..." Vexes salted the horrendous wound with her words, "Is it really worth all this pain to feel human?"

"I...I don't need my left...Arm to beat you." Jenny replied as strongly as she could muster at the moment. Her mind still trying to decipher the overwhelming amount of pain data streaming in from her touch sensory nodes. Vexes swiftly kicked the severed appendage that lay at her feet. The limb hit Jenny in the shins. Jenny looked down upon the piece of herself in shock.

"Get it together XJ-9! You've _**lost!**_" Vexes raised her right hand out in-front, palm vertical to the ground, and aimed at Jennifer, "Now..._**"It's time to watch everyone you care about die!" **_An energy ball, 10ft in diameter, burst forth from her hand. The rain falling on them began evaporating as the massive amount of energy radiated enough heat to keep the droplets away. Jennifer processed, for the first time in a long time, fear for her life as the white ball approached, ripping large chunks of the ground free in it's wake. At the last possible second, the ball curved upwards into the air, only a few inches from Jennifer's face. Quickly snapping out of her reflective daze, Jenny spun to track the energies trajectory. A dotted line passed through the ball in her H.U.D and ended at a small dot floating in the sky that her systems indicated would be impacted. She zoomed in on the object. Her metal jaw hinged open as she read the the words along what she found was the hull of a large Skyway aircraft, "Johnson..._**MOM! NOOO!**_"

**Aboard the U.S.S. Johnson**

_**"Careful!" **_Nora sternly scolded her assistant, "You can't splice 480 _**AC **_voltage into the _**DC **_battery backup system you _**nimrod**_!" Her voice, thick with aggravation, "Do you _**want**_ to burn up the emergency power supply lines as well?"

"If you would _**pay attention **_to what I'm doing instead of grumbling like a _**geyser**_!" The rotund man annoyingly replied while tightening an Allen screw, "You would see that I've _**fashioned**_ a power converter out of her _**propulsion ignition coil**_!"

"We have a _**time limit**_, in case you have _**forgotten!**_ If we don't get power to her main C.P.U. before the last of her energy depletes, then this whole endeavor becomes a _**pointless exercise in Electrical Engineering 101!**_" Nora continued her verbal assault while soldering a wire into place.

"_**Pointless!**_ The only thing _**pointless**_ here is this _**conversation!**_" Mogg rebutted, "If you'll allow me to _**finish**_, she will at least have a short amount of reserve power if the connection _**is**_ severed!" Nora's goggles witched back to their normal red tint as she finished her work with the soldering iron. Expertly, she maneuvered her left hand into her lab coat pocket, pulled out a single cigarette and popped it into her mouth. She pressed the hot tip of her soldering iron to the end of her indulgence and carefully studied Mogg's work as she puffed out small clouds of noxious fumes.

"Satisfied?" Mogg asked, obviously annoyed.

"Yes..." She softly spoke after her detailed scan, "I...Apologize. I'm a...Little on edge." She said a bit more calm.

Mogg smiled a little, "I'll be _**somewhat**_ more forgiving, if you pass one of those my way..." Nora grinned herself and tossed the MacBarrel pack to the man. Just as he pulled a cigarette free, the ship was struck with a tremendous force that caused it to list to the side. The sudden, jerky, shift flung the scientists into their work bench. The movement also threw XJ's 4 and 6 from their seat to the deck.

_**"SON OF A BITCH!" **_XJ-6 proclaimed from the floor, "What the_** hell **_is going on!" She also demanded while pushing herself to a standing position.

_**"Attention personal..." **_The intercom rang out as if to answer her question, _**"This is your Captain speaking, please remain calm. The turbulence we just experienced has passed. Our sensors indicate the event was the remnants of a shock-wave from the confirmed explosion of the robot designated as Smytron." **_The gang could here a wave a celebration echoing lightly through the ship,_** "Our scans also indicate that...What? What do you mean...Hang on..." **_The announcement fell silent for a moment. Nora, Mogg and the active XJ's looked at each other somewhat puzzled, _**"Brace for impact! Incoming energy projectile! E.T.A 22 seconds! Evasive actions!" **_The intercom went silent once more.

_** "Energy projectile?"**_ Mogg yelled as he clutched his hair.

__"Jenny she...Failed...That's the only explanation..."__XJ-4 softly spoke. Sadness laden in every word. Nora silenced them all with a motion of her hand and with a second motion, brought them all to her side. She placed her right hand on XJ-6's left arm and her left hand on XJ-4's right.

"Girls..." Nora began with a tone in her voice that her daughters had rarely heard, "We have 9 seconds..." She pulled them both close and hugged them firmly. The cigarette fell from her lips to the ground, "And in our last moments together...I want you to know...That you are loved..." The seconds, though in this moment they felt like hours, ticked by and the tears fell. They all felt the sudden shift in air temperature as the ball of energy struck the ship. The entire craft began to vibrate as it melted it's way through. The bay wall they were all standing by suddenly ripped away as the Johnson buckled in half. Paper work and random chunks of debris swirled around them as it was pulled through the tremendous opening in the hull. Nora clung to them, her children, despite the Hell raining down around them. Not quite praying, not quite wishing, but hoping, with all her heart, for that singular event, when the equations of science meet the face of God and the unexplainable takes place. A miracle. Eventually, the twisting steel and violent collapse of the Johnson proved to powerful and the strength of love was not powerful enough to hold the group together, _**"Save yourselves!" **_Nora ordered of her daughters as she and Mogg were pulled through the gaping maw in the ships hull and out into open air. XJ-4, not having enough energy to fly, raised her shields and awaited impact as she helplessly curled into the fetal position and fell. XJ-6, however, hotheadedly pursued her creator as she plummeted towards the ground, pushing out every once of power she had left but, before she could reach her, Nora suddenly stopped in mid air, as well as everything around her, including the wrecked aircraft. XJ-6 scanned her surroundings in full 360 degrees, looking for the source of the levitational phenomenon.

_**"Melody?" **_XJ-6 exclaimed in shock. Indeed, the bronze colored robot was hovering in the air at the epicenter of the ships collapse. XJ-6's scans revealed a wide reaching bio-magnetic field emanating from Melody's chest. A standard optical scan clearly brought to light the amount of stress the action was putting on the robot girl. Melody's face was contorted into one of a person exerting their, or very near their, physical limit. Melody firmly grit her teeth while she, as slowly as she could muster, brought the entire wreckage to the ground. The remnants of the once mighty aircraft struck with a still tremendous force, albeit much lessened by Melody. After confirming her mother's safety, XJ-6 immediately went to work, carrying out one of her prime objectives. A robot can not allow harm to befall a human due to it's inaction.

"Uhhh..." Nora moaned as she rubbed her forehead. She pushed her wobbling body up to it's feet and zipped her lab coat over her nose and mouth to block out the thick cloud of dust all around. _**"Melody!"**_ Nora saw the the robot on her hands and knees and ran to her side, "My goodness! That was _**astounding!**_ You saved..." The unfortunate sight of a mangled Skyway officer's body caught Nora's eye before she could finish her praise, "Err...Excellent work..." Melody breathed in and out heavily, expelling a large amount hot exhaust fumes with each exhale.

"Brad...Dale...Sensors offline...System rebooting...Can't find their...Heartbeats..." Melody heaved out through the oil in her mouth. Nora took note of the growing puddle of underneath her and the still leaking wound in her abdomen.

"The infirmary is more fortified than most of the ship." Nora reassured, "They are fine. We need to get you-"

_**"NO!"**_ Melody interjected, "No! I'm fine...My sensors are coming back online." A scan confirmed her hopes, as well as her fears, "I can sense him now...His life signs are slightly below normal but, still healthy..."

"I can take you to them...We'll find other personnel and repair your damage..." Nora pleaded with her. She knew they needed to seek shelter among the debris before Vexes found them out in the open.

"No, I-I can't give up now..." Melody struggled to her feet. Her gears grinding to the point of making Nora cringe, do to the lack of lubrication, "So, many sacrifices...So, many lives lost...Plan...The plan..."

"Yes, I agree. We _**definitely**_ need a plan..." Nora trialed off as her mind went to work. She grabbed Melody by the wrist and pulled her into the shadows of the ruined aircraft. Melody was awkwardly forced to stumble along behind her due to her wobbling joints and the sudden force of Nora's pull, "I hate to even conceive it but, we must consider the very real possibility that Jennifer...Has failed." The duo came to a halt underneath a over hanging piece of the ship's hull, "We will need to regroup with XJ's 6, 4, and all the officers they have saved. If we are lucky, XJ-8 also survived. Together, we can search the debris for supplies. If Mogg somehow managed to survive, we could go underground. Maybe we could upgrade all of your-"

"Nora? Ma'am?" Melody, much more politely, interrupted, "Please relax. My systems are all most fully rebooted. What I meant was, I already have a plan. It's a long shot but, if I can mange to set it in motion, then not even Vexes can stop it."

"Your going to face Vexes alone?" Nora asked, rather concerned and confused, "But...If Jennifer couldn't defeat her..." Nora left her sentence with those words, trying not to offend. Melody smiled.

"I know why your concerned and I take no offense. My power core was the first prototype of what we are facing now...The force that powers Vexes..." She placed her hand on the small woman's shoulder, "The Hive killed my father because of the information he knew about this technology and I recorded every bit of his work!" Melody informed while pointing to her C.P.U. housing, "I know the secret, the secret that cost Dr. Locust his life."

"I don't understand. You have a one in Thirty six million chance in _**surviving**_ this encounter! The odds of you winning alone are _**astronomical!**_" Nora exclaimed.

"Mrs. Wakeman...Jennifer is still active." Nora's eye's grew wide at the revelation, "I can sense her power...It's weak, she is badly damaged." Nora shook off her surprise.

"Ah, well...What is your plan? What is the secret of the Starbirth technology?" Nora asked. Melody smiled as she removed her hand.

"An algorithm, embedded in the fusion regulation process. Father discovered that, by adding a specific code into the program, the process would increase exponentially to the point of the star's maximum capability. The increased power output of the core directly increases the power of the containment field since it's powered by the star. Meaning that, the star can not breach the field. The Hive used a variation of the algorithm to mature Vexes's power core into a B8 class, father kept the original and I have it. All a need to do is implant it into Jennifer's C.P.U. and it will take care of the rest."

"Couldn't you use the code yourself?" Nora asked.

"No. My containment field is sustained off of my original power system. Dr. Locust didn't build a new robot from scratch, he adapted the technology into me to save time. If I used it on myself, my core would exceed my containment field and explode." Melody explained.

"What if you can't get the code to her in time?" Nora questioned further.

"Plan B..." Melody responded as XJ-4 approached them with a few survivors on her shoulders. Melody helped to set the men down, "You all should get as far away as possible. I tied all the power cores I gathered around the planet together and placed them in orbit...If I fail...I will send a signal and bring them all down on Vexes. The explosion will be catastrophic..."

"An explosion like that on Earth..." XJ-4 said.

"I know but...If I fail..." Melody paused to prepare her words, "...Vexes will destroy the entire planet anyway and go on to destroy many more...It's a last resort but-"

"But a necessary one..." XJ-6 landed as Nora finished Melody's sentence.

"No way we're letting you go at this alone!" XJ-6 proudly exclaimed as she laid a crying XJ-1 and heavily damaged XJ-3 down on the ground. Nora immediately went to her side and began work on XJ-3.

"No, I'm afraid you would be more of a liability. Help me tend to the wounded and search for the others." Nora ordered.

"Melody..." A strangely familiar voice called out from the debris. The entire group turned to see a dirt and blood covered Brad stagger from wreckage. In a heartbeat, Melody rushed to his side, supporting his weight.

"Oh, Bradly! Your alive!" Melody tearfully exclaimed. She hugged him as tight as he could stand.

"Mel...Don't go Mel..." Brad whispered into her ear, "I heard you...Through the rubble...Followed your voice...You saved me..." Brad's knee's collapsed and Melody softly laid him down on his back, "I can't lose you now..." Melody's human simulation program caused her to sniff as an oily tear rolled down her metal face.

"I...I know..." Melody ran her hand through his red locks, "But, I have to...I have to because I can't live in a world without you..." She chocked on her words a bit as her hand went from his hair, down the side of his face and caressed his cheek, "I will gladly lay down my life for the slightest chance of you living..." She kissed him on lips passionately for a few moments before pulling away, "I have to go...I...I love you..." She didn't wait for a response. Instead, she raised to her feet, backed away slowly and rocketed into the air, leaving Brad with his arm extended to the sky. Nora made her way to Bradly's side and knelled down beside him while his strength waned and his hand fell to the ground.

"Bradly! Bradly, can you hear me!" Nora tried to keep him from slipping into complete unconsciousness. Brad, groggily, groaned, "Did Dale survive? Did you see Sheldon in the wreckage?"

"Sheldon...Seen him...Crawling somewhere..." Brad heaved out, "Dale...He...He's dead..." Shock washed across Nora's face. She managed to regain her composure, more for the sake of her children and Bradly than herself. She let her eyes follow the trail of smoke from Melody's departure high into the sky. She paused for a moment on the clouds and took a second to reflect.

_"God, if you are up_ _there, please...We need your help more than ever..." _Nora silently thought to herself as she gazed up into the sky.

**Tremerton**

"Ahhhhh, what a beautiful sight." Vexes extended her arms out wide, as if to embrace the destruction she caused, while she savored the moment, "Watching all your hopes and dreams _**burst**_ into flame, and the ashes falling down upon the very ground you tried so hard to protect..." Jennifer dropped to her knees. Her oil filed eyes drifted to the ground in-front of her. She no longer had the strength of will to hold her head up. She had failed, "I believe the human expression is _**irony**_." Jennifer barely heard the words. She continued to stare blankly at the dirt, "It really is to bad your creator isn't here to at least watch..." Vexes reconfigured her left hand into brutally designed heavy ax. She brought it to her eyes and momentarily admired her reflection in the deadly weapon's broad blade, "Oh, well..._**Details**_..." The witch didn't hesitate. She slammed the ax into Jennifer's right shoulder blade. The slash cut deep, but not completely through. Jennifer fell face first to the ground. A startling amount of oil poured from the wound yet, Jenny found it curious that she didn't care in the least about the many alarms sounding in her C.P.U. and alerts flashing on her H.U.D. Her arm dangled by mere slivers of red hot metal as she lay in a growing pool of her on oil yet, she felt no pain. She briefly reasoned that the attack had cleaved through her main support pillar and severed her sensory data cord that connected her body with her C.P.U. as the cause. Her failing systems caused her vision to flicker back and forth between static and a strange dark figure standing on the distant horizon. With each flicker, the figure closed the gap by an incredible amount without ever seeming to move, until it stood over her. She gazed up, trying to discern the details through the static. The shadow extended a hand down to her. Vexes watched her prey intently, taking note of Jennifer's twitching fingers and far away stare.

"W-where...am I _*__**zzzz**__*_ going?" Jennifer softly asked the air around her. Vexes peaked her brow in confusion, but quickly filed her actions under damaged induced malfunction.

"Your mechanical systems must be shutting down from the loss of oil pressure." Vexes propped her foot up on Jennifer's back, "Without a pump to circulate coolant, your C.P.U. is probably over heating and malfunctioning...Tisk, tisk, tisk..." She gave her a mocking sympathetic smile, "It's a little disappointing to see you this way. You use to stand so proudly against me..." She raised the blade high above her head and let her sharp teeth show in their full glory, "Wherever your going, you'll _**be-heading**_ there _**now!**_" Vexes could taste the satisfaction of a rightful victory, long denied from her, as the blade neared within a few centimeters of Jennifer's neck and, stopped dead, _**"WHAT?" **_Vexes angrily yelled at the invisible force opposing her. Her optics saw a thin purple line across her ax's blade, _**"YOU! You should be dead!" **_Vexes raised her weapon again, _**"I will not be denied! Not when I'm this close!" **_Down she forced the blade again and, once again, a thin purple line brought it to a halt. The Earth split open a few inches from the incredible force, following the path of the weapons edge, _**"You bitch! I watched you die through Smytus's eyes!" **_

__"I think you got a screw loose _**witch!**_" A far off and foggy, yet familiar, voice called out. A purple cloud coalesced into a hazy, mostly transparent, humanoid form, _**"Cause I'm better than ever!"**_ Vexes swung her ax at her new enemy. The blade passed through the abdomen of the ghostly figure, cleaving it into. The cloud reformed itself in seconds, _**"My turn!"**_ A thick stream of the purple cloud quickly exploded out from the figure's chest and enveloped Vexes. The cloud pushed her into the air, carried her a few hundred yards away and slammed her into the ground. The figure then turned it's big bright eyes towards Jennifer, "I _**said**_ this ain't over and we're _**going**_ to kick this bitch's _**ass!**_" Jennifer's audio sensors recognized the speech pattern.

"Misty?" Jennifer asked weakly.

"Yeah, girl." Misty answered, "Now, _**get up!**_ I can't do this alone!" Jennifer gave it her best effort but, could not get her one damaged arm to push herself up.

"I-I can't..." Jennifer said, "I'm too damaged..."

_**"You better get up you hunk of junk!"**_ Misty angrily yelled, "Don't you know your family and the whole damn _**world**_ is still counting on you to do this? I don't have much time left before my life force must return to the Omni-mist..." Her voice changed to a much friendlier tone, "Whatdaya say we team up? One last time?" Driven on by the reminder of what is at stake, Jennifer deactivated the many widgets in her H.U.D., flashing their sever warnings of physical damage, and forced her joints to work. She rolled to her back, then brought her legs up to her waist and quickly thrust them outward, the momentum pulled the top half of her body of the ground. She carefully timed and balanced her landing to remain up right. She struggled to keep her damaged knee from collapsing but, after a few adjustments, stood firm.

"It's Teen Team time!" Jennifer, a little more confidently, said as she stood by her old friend. Though her cloudy face could not display it, Jennifer knew that Misty was smiling.

"Oh, I am going to _**KILL THE FUCK OUT OF YOU!" **_Vexes decreed while rising to her feet. She stomped her foot into the ground, sending a wave of energy, traveling just under the soil, at Jennifer and Misty. The girls jumped out of the way as the ground where they stood exploded. Misty landed and Vexes was on her in an instance, Kicking, slashing and clawing at the purple haze. Each attack that passed through the cloud increased her anger a hundred fold. Misty solidified her hand and landed an uppercut that staggered the Queen backwards a few feet.

"_**Burns**_ don't it?" Misty mocked her opponent. Jennifer landed behind the evil witch. She spun on her heels, flinging her limp arm around and connected with the side of Vexes face. Vexes slid across the ground and caught her footing.

"Come one Vexes! I can take you on with one arm behind my back!" Jenny snidely commented. Vexes rubbed a small trickle of oil from her steel lip with the back of her hand and spat out a jagged tooth.

"Your right Misty..." Vexes smiled her gaped smile as she flung the oil on her hand to the ground with a flick of her wrist. Jenny's optics saw the liquid begin to smoke and bubble, "It _**does**_ burn." Instantly, the duo found themselves caught in a massive inferno. The top layer of ground evaporated away and a wave of molten Earth rushed at them. Misty threw herself in-front of Jenny and created a protective bubble of mist.

"I Can't keep this up forever!" Misty exclaimed over the roaring heat. Jenny saw a long tail of hazy purple trailing off from their shield. The splashes and splotches of her own oil strewn across her own chassis began to catch flame, indicating the amount of danger they were in even inside the shield. Jenny's sensors picked two odd things simultaneously. The first was a massive energy build up taking place within Vexes, a build up that, up until this point, Jenny really didn't think Vexes was capable of. The second was an incoming high speed projectile with a familiar energy signature,_** "What the hell robot girl? Calculate something already will ya?"**_ Misty demanded as her shield began to fail.

_**"Brace yourself!" **_Jenny slid in-front of Misty and fell on one knee, directing her damaged arm at Vexes. She pushed out a bright blue, thick shell of energy that deflected a large amount of the heat. Jennifer's shoulder began to turn white hot and release small sparks and white drops as it began to melt. Misty knelled down behind her and placed her hands on Jenny's shoulders.

"Whatever your doing, I'm right behind you!" Misty focused her remaining energy, forming as best a shield as possible in-front of Jenny's. A sudden glint of light caught her eye. She looked into the sky, "Is that?"

"Yeah..." Jenny grunted out as she pushed with all her might against the onslaught of radiation. Misty saw that Melody was heading straight for Vexes and that Vexes's attention was fully trained on Jenny and herself.

"Is she?" Misty more mouthed than spoke as she watched Melody's descent.

"Yep..." Jenny strained out her response. Vexes raised her arms out in-front and channeled the tremendous power into her hands. Jenny anchored herself to the ground, preparing for the inevitable.

"Damn, this is going to be intense!" Misty commented as she followed Melody's decent. And braced herself.

_**"TIME TOO DIE!" **_Vexes screamed as her energies peaked. Her hands glowed a blindingly blueish white and the energy began to exit her palms when Melody slammed into her from above, driving them into the ground. There was a few microseconds of calm, like the still eye of a storm, that passed before the Earth trembled terribly and shattered all around them. The ground bulged and burst sending tons of heaving rock high into the air while white energy poured forth, overwhelming all senses and sensors. Jenny tried her best to remain focused but, her systems could not with stand the force of the explosion. She found her vision, once more, flickering from pitch black to visions of hell all around and, finally, darkness. When Jenny opened her optics, after what seemed like an eternity, she saw a world of darkness. She tried to move but couldn't. With great effort, she managed to push herself into an up right position, breaking the surface of cooked ground she was buried under. She scanned around, as far as she could see, the ground had been melted into a perfect, vast sheet of glass. She tried too move her remaining appendage but, found she no longer possessed it or her pigtails, "Misty?" she called out. No response. She awkwardly pulled her legs from the glass and stood up, "Oh, man...I'm*zzzz*totaled...I got to get repaired before I shut down for good..."

"Oh my...You seem to think that you've won." The voice sent chills down Jenny's spine. She turned around to see her deadliest enemy standing before her. Vexes's chassis was scarred and dented, not a bit of her paint job survived the blast, nor did her long, pointed pigtails, "This isn't a fairy tale..._**THIS IS REALITY!" **_Vexes angrily yelled. She pulled her left fist back and configured it into a short dagger but, before she could strike, the purple cloud returned, completely enveloping her, _**"GGGGAAAAAAHHHH! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" **_Vexes shook violently in-front of Jenny, cursing and gnashing her teeth, trying to break free of a mysterious hold.

_**"Whatever the hell you came here to do Melody, you better do it now!"**_ Misty pleaded as she struggled to hold the Queen at bay. Jennifer, mostly due to her energy depletion, the loss of oil and the critical amount of damage, stood frozen not knowing, for the first time in a long time, what to do. Melody landed beside Jenny and grabbed onto what remained of her shoulders, spinning her around to face her.

"Jenny! Look at me!" Jenny lifted her eyes to Melody's, "Do you trust me?" Melody franticly asked. Jennifer starred blankly back, _**"Do you trust me?"**_ Jenny finally snapped out of her confusion.

"Ye...Yes." Jenny replied, unsure.

"Good..." An 8 inch long spike protruded from Melody's right hand, "By the way, if this doesn't work...I'm Sorry..." Jennifer tried to process what Melody meant by those words in that strange tone but, her thoughts were cut short as Melody rammed the spike's full length into the center of her forehead. Her eyes went blank as well as her expression. Melody pulled the spike out and stepped back a few feet. Jenny fell to the ground, her vision went blurry with one's and zero's as her C.P.U. shutdown and her mind went blank.


	14. Humanoid

**Chapter X**

**Humanoid**

_** "Life will break all of us, cracking and splitting our stained glass future. Remaining strong at these broken places for a lifetime is a burdening task...Becoming more than your fractured sum? That is the ultimate test." **_

_** R.D.M.**_

**The remains of Tremerton**

Misty and Vexes both watched intently as Melody retracted the spike back into her hand and took a step back. A small, black drop of oil dripped to the ground from her finger. Jennifer's lifeless body fell to it's knees for a brief moment before continuing forward to the ground in a limp heap, _**"Melody! What have you done?"**_ Misty questioned the action of her presumed ally. Vexes's face twisted with anger, she pounced on Misty's momentary distraction and produced a powerful burst of white energy from her body. The shock-wave blew apart the purple cloud that was struggling to subdue her and carved out a crater around her feet.

_**"YOU PIECE OF HUMAN CONSTRUCTED SCRAP!" **_Vexes focused her immense rage on the bronze colored robot girl, _**"She was MY kill! MINE!" **_She disappeared and reappeared right in front of Melody, _**"She was supposed to know pain of every emotional and physical aspect before I destroyed her! You've stolen my victory!" **_Vexes grabbed the left side of the bulge of metal that formed Melody's breasts and crushed it, _**"I'll destroy you for that!"**_ With the twisted metal still firmly in her grasp, Vexes spun to her right, pulling a large section of Melody's breast plate off. With her back now facing Melody, Vexes released a devastating rear kick straight into Melody's abdomen. She slid backwards across the wet ground on her heels for fifty feet until, the momentum wore off. Melody came to a stop, doubled over and clutched the foot shaped dent in her stomach. Misty reformed herself next to Jenny.

"Oh, no..." She knelled down beside her fallen friend, "Ancestors no...Why would she do this?" She asked the damp air around her while she rested her hand on Jenny's metal head, "I don't have enough time left to beat her...I can't believe its going to end like this...I-" Suddenly, Misty's bright, white eyes lite up. She sensed something, something deep inside of the lifeless pile of steel. She closed her eyes and concentrated, searching for a dim path leading to the small flicker of hope she felt. Down she went, through the wires and circuitry, deep into the microchips and quantum processors, to the place where the line between human and machine blurred. She found herself in a vast white void, an odd energy seemed to fluctuate around her, reaching out to her yet, apprehensive and fearful, _"Telllll me your fearssss..." _She asked the force she sensed.Immediately, she watched the blank white world around her change. She suddenly found herself standing on firm ground, positioned at the center of a ruined city. As she slowly took in the site, the sound of far off laughter caught her attention. She flew towards the source. She came to a relatively flat section of the destroyed city and saw the silhouette of Vexes, covered in darkness, cackling madly upon a large pile of shaded debris,_"Your fear isss...failurrre..." _Misty concluded and quickly began gathering her words to reassure her friend when suddenly, the black clouds above parted, and an eerie light illuminated the dark figure. Misty gasped in horror at the sight. It wasn't Vexes at all, it was Jenny, covered in blood. The body's of her loved ones lay at her feet while she howled with laughter, enjoying every second of it. The vivid imagery shocked Misty deeply, but also told her exactly what she needed to say, _"You fear yourself...The power you have...Your afraid of losssing control...Of who you may become...Jennyyy...The difference between you and Vexessss...Is like the difference between humans and machinesss..." _Misty felt a shift in the energy around her, _"A __**machine**__ is built for a single purpose, and I've seen you grow and change...A __**machine**__ destroyed my ancestorssss, and I've watched you make choices to risk your life to help others, even if they hated you..." _The energy began to build, and an overwhelming surge of positive sensations washed over Misty, _"Your mind is shutdown...I'm speaking directly to your essence, your soul...A machine has no soul for me to communicate with...You can do thisssss! Think of all the people depending on you..Think of all the loved ones she's taken from you...They deserve better Jen! Get up! Fight! Fight for those lost! Fight for those who deserved to live!" _Misty's consciousness zipped back into her own mind in a blinding flash as she lost her connection with Jenny_._ She opened her eye's to see Jenny's body begin to vibrate beside her. Misty stood and floated back a short distance. The vibration grew into a loud hum, and the ground she stood on began to shake. Jennifer's body glowed bright red and started to melt but, the droplets dripped upwards, as if they were falling into the sky. Misty watched the individual drops coalesce into a ball of white hot metal. Jenny's melting form rose from the ground into the air and assumed a fetal position, all the missing pieces of her body were drawn back to her and melted back into their proper places on her body. After a few seconds, her entire form began to ripple and all the dents and holes of her body began to fade away. Sparks of blue electricity flashed across her periodically and the Earth cracked around the entire area. An invisible mass of swirling energy began pulling massive chunks of rock out of the ground and into the air around her. Across the battle field, Melody's sensors suddenly alerted her to a rising energy level. She smile to herself as she looked up towards Vexes, just in time to see her hands out in front of her. A small spark of white blinked into existence between Vexes's palms and then exploded into a powerful, focused beam of immense energy that struck Melody like a run away train. The impact ripped the outer layer of her metal skin from the front her body. Melody managed to remain standing, as firmly as she could, her body left a glowing bright red from the heat. All of her internal mechanics became exposed, and dripped with melted hoses, wires, and sizzling oil.

"I want your oil pump..." Vexes stated as she calmly and confidently strode towards Melody. The ground exploded beneath her feet with each step, "I want to pull it out, and show it to you...And just before your systems shut down...I'm going to crush your head..." The way she carried herself and calmly spoke, as she strode towards her target, told Melody everything that her destroyed sensors couldn't. Vexes meant exactly what she said. She stopped a few feet before Melody, "And a Queen _**always**_ gets what she _**wants!**_" The mad vixen reconfigured her left arm into a long sword. A quick swipe with her new weapon, and Melody lost both of her legs just above the knees. She fell on her back and propped herself up on her elbows, "Now...About that oil pump..." Vexes returned her arm to normal and reached down towards her victim.

"Enjoy it...Bitch...Because you wont live long enough _***zzzzz* **_to destroy anything else..." Melody said as she closed her optics. She mentally prepared herself for what was about to happen, content with the the thought of accomplishing her final mission. Vexes's hand softly landed on her exposed oil pump. Her lips twisted up into an evil, gaped, grin as she slipped her finger around the throbbing part, _"I'm so sorry Brad..." _Melody thought to herself and, as Vexes began to tighten her grip, an alert appeared in her H.U.D. Indicating that an unusual energy build up had been detected from behind.

"That energy..." Vexes suddenly released her grip and slowly turned to the point indicated by her sensors. She almost couldn't believe her optics when she zoomed in on the source, "Impossible..." She said with hate while the power level indicator widgets number's began to rise in her H.U.D., _**"IMPOSSIBLE!" **_She whipped back around to Melody, _**"YOU! YOU DID THIS!" **_She snatched Melody up by the throat, _**"You've had your father's code this entire time!" **_Vexes bared the talons of her free hand, preparing to end Melody for good when, a massive bolt of blue energy struck them both. The ground exploded around them, sending a massive plume of mud into the sky. When the debris cleared, Melody was gone, leaving Vexes alone on a steaming section of damaged ground. Vexes's sensors couldn't detect a trace of Melody anywhere. It was at that moment, that the gravity of the situation began to weigh on her processors, "No..._**NO!**_" A large, blood white aura erupted around her, the shock-wave ripped apart the ground around her. She used her rifting ability and suddenly appeared beside Misty, catching her off guard.

_**"UH!"**_ Misty gasped in surprise. She turned to her left to face her foe, _**"Oh, no you don't!"**_ Misty dropped down and tried a leg sweep to trip her opponent but, her leg exploded into a cloud of mist when it connected with the aura surrounding Vexes. Vexes didn't budge. Misty exploded into a mist cloud and reformed behind Vexes. Misty solidified her hands and feet and let loose a blindingly fast barrage of martial arts style attacks. The blows carried the weight of an oil tanker yet, her limbs exploded as they collided with the barrier with little effect. Misty, simply continued the cycle of reforming her appendages and pressing her assault. Growing tired of the distraction, Vexes clenched her fist, spun on her heels and drove it into Misty's chest. The cloud offered little resistance, Misty gasped momentarily but quickly calmed down, "_**Ha!**_ Can't touch this!" Misty gloated about her intangible body. Vexes looked coldly upon her.

"Fool. I don't need to _**touch **_you." Vexes spoke with a hate filled voice. A blinding explosion erupted from her fist, engulfing the three of them in a blinding flash of immense solar energy.

**The wreckage of the U.S.S. Johnson**

Nora, the XJ's, Bradly, and 23 of the survivors, were all making the most of the ships wreckage, building make shift beds for the more seriously injured. Nora focused on tending to those in need, not slowing down long enough to allow her emotional ties to the situation around her to weigh on her mind, "Nora..." Mogg called out to his old colleague as he cautiously approached her work area, "Nora?" He pushed aside the cloth acting as a door to their makeshift infirmary.

"Hm?" She replied as she turned around to face him, pulling a stethoscope from her ears.

"I just came to check in..." He said.

"He's going to lose his leg, of that I'm certain..." She spoke of the officer on the makeshift operating table, "Without proper medical supplies...His life as well..." She wiped her brow and walked over to Mogg, "How's your leg?" She asked. Mogg briefly glanced down at his rudimentary knee brace. It was the best they could manage after finding him pinned beneath a portion of steel.

"I'm fine, I...Actually came to check in on you...How...Are you OK?" He asked. Nora opened her mouth to speak but, found herself chocking on her words when she tried to reply. She tried to fidget with her goggles to cover the momentary lapse in strength but, her emotions welled her and two small tears fell from her eyes. She turned her back and mentally scolded herself for cracking. It was just the first sign of genuine concern anyone had shown her since the whole ordeal had started, and from Mogg of all people.

"I...Miss them...You know?" She heaved out, suddenly, between sobs. Mogg knew all to well the pain of lose that she spoke of, "Jobs help me...Even Sheldon..."

"I know..." Mogg approached her, spun her around, and pulled her in for a hug. The two had seemed to find equal comfort in one another through their shared pain, "I lost a son...I know I may not seem like the person you can confide in, but...I'm here...If you want to talk..." Nora just sobbed into his shoulder without responding, "We can help each other through this." At that moment, XJ-4 burst into the room bearing news.

_**"MOM!" **_XJ-4 shouted, _**"Sheldon and 8! We found them!"**_ She exclaimed. Nora nearly knocked over Mogg as she ran out of the door. The small man preformed several awkward maneuvers before regaining his balance to pursuit the others. Once out of the wreckage, Nora observed a small group of survivors, the XJ's and Bradly forming a crowd around them. Nora pushed her way to the center. She was taken by surprise by what she saw.

"Uh...H-Hi, No-Nora..." Sheldon said when he spotted her. He nervously scratched the back of his metal head as he spoke to her.

"_**You...**_" Nora scornfully spoke and clenched her fists. She found herself momentarily speechless at the sight of a fully restored Silver Shell, _**"YOU BASTARD!" **_She ran at the metal beast and pounded her fists against his steel legs until she tired and feel to her knees, crying.

"You shouldn't be here!" A voice cried out from the crowd, "We know what you did!" Cried another, "Get out of here traitor!" Yet another. The crowd grew angrier and more hostile with each insult.

"I Know! I know! Please! Just...Just listen!" He tried to plead his case but, his words fell on deaf ears.

"Go on! Leave!" Brad shouted. He stepped from the encircling hoard, a rock in hand. He hurled it into Sheldon's metal chest, causing a loud thud as it bounced off and to the ground. Sheldon held his hands out, trying to seem as harmless as possible and backed away from the angry mob. The rest of the crowd followed suit, grabbing whatever debris they could and throwing it at him. XJ-4, boldly stepped forward. She dropped down to one knee, pointed her left arm straight at Sheldon and braced it underneath at the elbow with her right. Her left hand retracted into her body and her arm formed a cannon.

_**"This is for 5!"**_ XJ-4 exclaimed.

_**"Yeah! Lay'em out sis!"**_ XJ-6 yelled in support of her siblings action. Just as XJ-4 began to charge her cannon.

_**"Cease and desist!"**_ Elena commanded while placing herself between Sheldon and the group, "I am responsible for the Silver Shell exo-suit's repairs." A collective gasped resonated from the crowd, "The ships emergency generators went online when the main power shut down and charged my systems." She grabbed the cable attached to her head for infasis, "As long as I remain tied to the ship, I can function at normal capacity. When my systems achieved an efficient charge, I reactivated underneath the wreckage. While pushing the obstructions out of my vicinity, I detected a weak bio-signal near by and traced it. That is how I located Sheldon. He was in an unconscious state. I processed his life force would soon deactivate without the advanced life-support systems inside the Silver Shell." XJ-4 deactivated her weapon, "After I placed him inside the suit and activated it, I waited for him to regained consciousness. I listened to his personal log of the events. He indicated that his actions were do to Vexes enforcing her will onto him through mental manipulation. I believe in my_**...Processing...**_heart, that his accounts are true." Small murmurs filled the air as the survivors whispered among themselves, "He also indicated to me his intentions of accepting the consequences of his actions after the situation is contained." Nora, stood again, her face still holding an ice cold stare.

"Do you truly believe his actions were not his own?" She asked Elena, still eying Sheldon, "Do you trust your heart?"

"Affirmative Mother." Elena answered.

"So...You want to accept the consequences of your actions? You can start by looking around you!" Nora decreed. As she finished her sentence, a sudden and powerful blast of energy struck a short distance behind Sheldon, causing Nora, and a few others, to loss their balance and fall. Nora quickly jumped back to her feet and adjusted her goggles, _**"Hawkins hologram! What the hell was that?" **_She shouted.

"Stay back everyone! I'll check it out." Bradly offered. Nora stopped him as tried to sprint to the dusty crater.

"Not so fast! Your in no shape to _**"Check-out"**_ anything!" She informed, "I'll investigate this development..." She turned and proceeded to the site of the explosion. XJ's 4 and 6 followed her. The three stood at the rim while the dust cleared away.

_**"OHMYGOD!" **_XJ-4 exclaimed, _**"Melody!" **_Brad heard the name of his love and sprinted to the site.

"Oh no...God no!" Brad tried to jump into the crater with her but, XJ-6 stopped him, _**"Let go!" **_He struggled for freedom against her steel hands, _**"LET GO OF ME!" **_He screamed as she pulled him away.

"XJ-4! We need to get her inside immediately!" Nora informed. XJ-4 jumped in the hole and scooped her up and ran to the wreckage. Nora trotted behind as quickly as she could, giving Sheldon a sideways stare as she passed.

_**"It's your fault!"**_ Brad screamed at Sheldon while XJ-6 pushed him towards the wreckage, "Get a good look! This is what you caused! You want to take the high road and ask for redemption? From where I stand, it looks like your down in a hole! _**Eye for an eye!**_" His voice faded into the ships remains, but the words hung heavy in Sheldon's mind. Elena starred him down for a few long seconds.

"Go ahead...Say whatever you want...I deserve it..." Sheldon said. She and a small portion of the crowd, continued their stares.

"I have nothing further to add or detract from Bradly's statement..." She droned out in her digital monotone before turning and making her way to the wreckage. The crowd slowly dispersed behind her, leaving Sheldon alone with his thoughts.

_"An eye...For an eye..." _He thought to his self as he turned and gazed in the direction of the battlefield. Suddenly, a realization struck him, "The Nightmare power cores!" He raced towards the area that Melody was taken. He peeled back the cloth curtain and entered the room, _**"Melody!"**_

"_**Mister Lee!**_ Get the hell out of my operating area!" Nora demanded. All the XJ's, aside from 6, stepped in-front of him, blocking his passage.

"Melody! The power cores! What did you do with them?" He asked loudly while being forced back outside.

"_***zzzzz***_ In orbit..." Melody hacked out, "Awaiting my signal..."

_**"10 minutes!"**_ Sheldon exclaimed before being pushed out of the room, _**"Detonate them ALL in 10 minutes!" **_He ran from the wreckage and blasted off into the sky.

"What do you suppose he's up to?" Mogg asked Nora.

"Redemption..." She replied.

**The remains of Tremorton**

Vexes's vision slowly came back online as the static of background radiation from her own explosion faded. She scanned the area, to her surprise, she found a crater 10ft in diameter beneath her. Her scans determined that it reached a depth of a mile and there was no sign of any damage outside of the hole's perimeter. There also seemed to be no sign of Misty. She scanned above her, the force and radiation of her entire blast had been funneled into space. Quickly processing that this was the least of her concerns, she preformed a wide spectrum scan of her surroundings, trying to locate Jennifer, "Where have you gotten off to?" She asked herself.

"Behind you..." A womanly voice answered over her shoulder. Vexes snapped around, swinging her claws at the sound. All she managed to slice was the air. She scanned around again. Her sensors detecting nothing, "You didn't let me finish...Behind you lies centuries of death, hate, and cruelty." Vexes turned around again, slowly this time, "And in-front of you, stands me." Vexes was quite shocked by the site. Before her hovered the golden form of a women. Jennifer's shape had become more representative of her age. Longer legs, sleeker physique, a more prominent bust and shapely legs. Her entire surface still seemed to ripple and flow like thick syrup. Her pigtails seemed to wave in the air like images distorted by rising heat waves and her solid, blue eyes glowed brightly and gazed judgmentally upon Vexes. The air around her bent, forming an invisible aura that distorted the scenery behind her, "You have a lot of sins to atone for Vexes..." Jennifer's slightly deeper voice landed on Vexes's audio receptors. The witch clenched her fists and snarled, "I can't offer you salvation...Only an end."

_**"HAHAHA!"**_ Vexes laughed obnoxiously, "_**Bold**_ words..." Her own aura swirled around her, "I offer you the same!_** An end!**_" Bolts of thin blue lightning flashed around Jennifer's body.

"So be it..." Jennifer spoke. The titans charged at one another. The impact of their auras sounded like thunder across the sky and ripped a mile long crack into the Earth beneath them. Jennifer and Vexes traded blows evenly, rising higher into the air as they fought. Despite their even exchanging of attacks, this time, a noticeable amount of metal shavings and paint chips flew from Vexes's chassis after each strike, leaving shinny spots of fresh metal exposed. Her knuckles became a dull red due to heat transfer from merely touching Jennifer. A final blow from each connected heavily on the others cheek. The force blow the clouds from the sky and leveled a two mile tract of land on the ground. Jennifer and Vexes both streaked through the air for a few miles before stabilizing themselves.

"You've grown so much..." Vexes mocked while rubbing the small, paint-less dent in her left cheek, "Do you really think you can handle the task of _**ending**_ me?" In the blink of an eye, Jennifer vanished, reappearing a few meters in-front of Vexes. The Queen hovered backwards a few feet in her surprise. Jennifer balled her right fist. Vexes focused on the action, trying to process what she was doing so she could properly counter. Jennifer's hand slowly changed from it's yellow hot color until it turned a light blue. Subtle details, not found on robots, emerged as it cooled. Human shaped joints in her five fingers, knuckles and wrist, all covered in light blue, smooth skin, even darker blue finger nail shaped plates at the end of her digits. The light blue color went halfway up her forearm, where it slowly faded back into it's golden hot, flowing form. Vexes aimed her gaze back to Jennifer's eyes.

"I'm capable of far more..." Blue energy sparked around the reformed hand. She raised it at Vexes and fired a powerful blast at her. The attack caught Vexes off guard but, the action was slow. Vexes clasped her hands together and swung them upwards, batting the energy away into space. Detecting a spacial distortion, Vexes fell downward into one of her rifts, narrowly missing a vicious back hand from Jennifer.

"_**Nice trick!**_ Copying my rifting technique!" Vexes used her on teleportation to appear behind Jennifer, "But you are _**far**_ from a _**master!**_" Jennifer detected the movement and had already assumed a defensive stance as Vexes appeared. The queen preformed an uppercut with her claws extended. Jennifer leaned backwards, just missing the attack. Jennifer countered with a straight forward kick to the abdomen. Vexes teleported again. Jennifer froze for as split second to read her course but, she reappeared in the exact same place she left from, leaving Jennifer stunned, "And that is why you will _**lose**_ today!" Vexes released a powerfully intense beam from the aura around her, right into Jennifer's chest. There was no time for her to block. The beam slammed into her yet, see held her position in the air. Parts of the beam reflected off in all directions and slowly pushed her backwards, _**"YOU! WILL! FALL!"**_ The witch cried as she pushed out a final burst at the end of her attack. The blast was like another nuclear explosion. The force of it even carried Vexes backwards a few miles. She stabilized herself and adjusted her vision to see Jennifer through all the radiation, debris and light of the explosion. She smiled to herself as she watched her opponents lifeless form tumble through the air and impact hard with the ground. She teleported to the site of her foes crash. She folded her arms and smiled, she detected that Jennifer was still alive but, her sensor readings were acting strange, _"No, matter..." _She processed to herself. Though her readings may not be 100% accurate, she processed that they were close enough. She waited patiently for her opponent to arise. Soon, a light blue hand landed on the craters edge, then another. Vexes's jaw hinged open at the sight of what emerged from the hole. Jennifer pulled herself out and stood defiantly in-front of Vexes. Her eyes had turned into a beautiful shade of blue with black iris's, surrounded by white. Her head, no longer a simple, round design, had become closely human shaped, complete with a nose. Her tell-tell pigtails were gone, replaced by deep blue and slightly wavy hair foil that reached just past her shoulders. Her shoulder and elbow joints disappeared, a smooth, seamless form took their place. The more Vexes scanned the being before her, the more incalculable it became. Her eyes fell to Jennifer's chest, two prominent, and separate, bulges of soft material. Tinted the same shade as the main portion of her body and tipped with deeper blue nipples, matching her nails, eyes, and hair. Her stomach would be the envy of any professional athlete, presenting a six pack of muscle, just well enough defined to be noticed and attractive. The hourglass like figure continued to her posterior and hips, a voluptuous hind end leading to long slender legs and feminine feet. Vexes scanned the sight hundreds of times a second, trying to figure out just exactly what it was she was looking at, her sensors continued to give her error laden information. She detected metallic materials and compounds yet, covering organic designs, mimicking them, down to complex cell structures and chain linked DNA like strands. A robotic body yet, no lines in her outer armor, _"Wait...Is that?"_ She questioned to herself as her optics landed on the most curious feature of all, _"No! Th-that's...It just...Can't be!" _She couldn't believe what her scanners read. Nestled between Jennifer's thighs, at the apex of her slender legs, set two folds of skin separated by a thin line with a deep blue dot atop it. A small, triangular patch of blue hair foil adorned the lips of Jennifer's genitals a few inches above, "What...What the fuck are you?" Vexes, angrily confused, questioned. Jennifer let a smile cross her lips. She brought her arms upwards and extended them out to her sides. Blue, digital lines formed around her forearms, hands, shoulders, chest, lower legs, feet and crotch. The lines turned into bright lights then slowly faded, revealing rectangular and squarish styled armor plating with rounded edges. Arm guards started at her wrist and covered her entire forearm, with a slight overhang to protect her elbow. A thicker version of her old style of chest armor covered her chest and wrapped around to her back, a slight v in the front allowed a small bit of cleavage from her new assets to show and left her midriff and belly button exposed. A skirt appeared around her waist, made from sections of metal extending half-way between her crotch and knees and ending in points, linked together by pieces of chain to provide protection and flexibility. Her feet became clad in heavy duty boots with a single large hinging joint in the middle. From her ankles to her knees, her legs were covered by thick leg guards. Her hair foil raised and separated, the two sections condensed into two separate pigtails, identical to her old ones.

"I am your fears made real..." Jennifer lowered her arms, "Neither human or machine...Not organic...Yet alive..." She balled her fists and the ground began to tremble, "You are just a robot, built and designed with rudimentary programming...Remove competition, consume resources, build, repeat. You've been following those same basic programs your entire life, never really developing outside of them." Jennifer proceeded forward, leaving indentations in the ground with each step, "You've spent your entire existence _**removing**_ competing lifeforms and _**consuming**_ resources to _**build**_ your armies. Your only real attempt at outward development was Vega, and you _**removed**_ her in your competition for control of Cluster Prim, then _**consumed**_ all available resources to _**build**_ DV-2. I wish you were capable of seeing that there is no robot or organic distinction, only an existence that we make for ourselves, but you are just a machine...Only capable of a linear thought path of little variance...Pitiful..."

_**"You would dare speak down to me?" **_The evil Queen cursed, "The only reason your still active is because I wanted to savor my revenge!_** I**_ created the technology that made you what you are!" Vexes began making her way towards Jennifer.

"Another testament to your faulty programming...You could have defeated me long ago, but then, you wouldn't have a purpose would you? What do you do when there is no _**competition**_ for you to try and _**remove**_? As for your technology, what you see before you is nothing like anything you have seen before." Electricity sparked vividly around Jennifer's form.

"I'm going make a _**trophy**_ from your _**exoskeleton**_!" Vexes angrily boasted.

"You have my permission to try." Jennifer countered and tightened her fists. Their auras connected and the world stopped. It seemed as if the hands of time froze, daring not to move for fear of their effect on the outcome. Jennifer began with an expertly executed roundhouse kick, Vexes spun out of the way, dropping down as she spun, she countered with a leg sweep. Jennifer hover upwards a few inches, avoiding the attack and planted her left boot into Vexes face. Vexes rode the momentum, flipping over backwards and landing on her feet in a crouched position. She gave a quick smile and configured her left fist into a foot diameter ball, 6in long spikes jutted out from it in all directions and it fell to the ground with a heavy thud, trailing a length of chain back to Vexes forearm.

_**"Isn't it exciting XJ-9!"**_ Vexes joyfully yelled as she jumped to her feet and began circling the weapon above her head, _**"The ultimate battle! The final showdown!"**_ Jennifer stood firm, _**"Our final act!" **_She flung the ball of death at Jenny, who, side stepped the attack. Jennifer formed a heavy ax with her right arm, about to cut the chain, when suddenly, Vexes whipped it, up and down, violently. The action snapped the chain in half just past Jennifer, and the momentum caused the severed end still attached to Vexes's arm to wrap around Jennifer's ax arm. Jennifer snarled, surprised at the Vexes's action and disappointed in her own underestimation of her opponent. Vexes launched herself into the air and snatched Jenny up with her, _**"Keep your eyes on the birdie!" **_Jenny looked at Vexes above her when she yelled yet, something pulled at the back of her head, like a sixth sense, telling her to turn around. She did, only to spot the deadly spiked ball hurdling at her from behind.

_"She's trying to distract me...Let the ball hit me and explode while she's at a safe distance." _Jenny quickly reasoned to herself,_ "Not today!" _She changed her entangled arm back to normal and firmly gripped the chain, _**"ENOUGH!" **_She yelled. She stopped herself instantly, rippling the air around her and causing Vexes to slam to a halt, flinging her legs out in-front of her as she was snatched around to see what was happening. Jennifer pulled the chain towards herself, flinging Vexes straight at her at an incredible speed. Vexes could only focus on Jennifer's ever increasing chest as she hurled uncontrollably at her. At the last moment, Jenny turned, allowing the spike ball and Vexes to pass, simultaneously, around her. She grabbed both chain ends as they zipped by and began to spin, turning both objects forward momentum, into centrifugal force. She spun a few times, deciding on a proper angle of release, before finally letting go of both. Vexes streaked across the North American hemisphere, slamming into and skipping across the Pacific Ocean, all the way to the Hawaiian island of Ni'ihau. The impact, cracked the land mass in half, leaving Vexes planted firmly in the center of the island.

"That...Little..._**Witch!**_" Vexes growled lowly to herself. She clawed her way through the crumbled rock until she reached the surface. Her sensors sounded off as she pulled herself halfway out of the debris. She looked in the direction indicated to see her own spiked bomb hurdling at her. Her eyes widened in shock and she threw up her hands at the last second before impact. The ball struck her, penetrating her forearms with it's long spikes then exploded. The explosion destroyed what was left of the island yet, Vexes remained, hovering in the same location. Her arms were badly damaged, large holes in various locations on both with sections of armor missing. Her systems were still trying to repair her shield generators. She dropped her arms to see XJ-9 hovering in-front of her.

"I have to hand it to you, your still the smartest enemy I've ever faced, but I'm much smarter than I use to be." Vexes's oil boiled with anger, "I'll give you one final chance, leave this planet and live the rest of your life cycle out alone, in the void of space. All of your Nightmares have been defeated, Smytus has been destroyed, and DV-2 has been deactivated." Vexes Snarled at XJ-9, trembling with her hate, "Your entire plan has failed, the Earth will recover, you ruined my old image but, I have a new one now that will give mankind hope again, and renew their trust in artificial lifeforms. I am far more powerful than ever, and the humanity in me that you hate so much still remains. Go...Live with the screaming processes of your short comings inside your C.P.U., forever alone in the cold silence of space." At a glance, One might infer that Vexes was about to explode, the way her body shook and her teeth ground together, her aura expanded and the ocean beneath boiled and steamed. Then, suddenly, she calmed, and regained her composure.

"For a moment there...I almost believed that you might be a threat to me, but then I realized, your just the product of an insignificant, infertile, organic creature of pure _**filth!**_" Jennifer's bio-mechanical muscles flexed tense at Vexes words of her creator, "You and your sisters were all manufactured for monetary gain! The only reason you _**exist**_ at all is because she lost the ability to conceive, _**by my hands**_, in the first Galactic war! Your _**existence**_ is a _**contradiction**_ to the very ideals you _**protect!**_" Jenny's eye twitched, giving away the intense rage she was holding inside, "I can't lose to you because your Mother is a less than average functioning organism that programmed you with all of her own_**frailties!**_" Now, Jennifer was seething with anger, "She was a _**weak**_ women who built a _**weak robot!**_ And I'm going to show you just how _**weak**_ you are!"

_**"I WONT LET YOU GET TO ME!"**_ Jenny yelled, it was all to obvious her human emotions were seeping through her hard exterior. Vexes activated her rifting systems at that exact moment. Jennifer, blinded by her emotions, could not see her movement, she only noticed that Vexes instantly blinked out of sight at the same time a crushing blow smash into her lower back. She coughed out a splotch of brownish colored liquid as she nearly doubled over backwards from the attack. She recovered surprisingly fast, spinning around to face her ambusher but,Vexes was gone. She moved around Jenny with expert precision and deadly speed, hitting her from all sides instantaneously. Jennifer could not keep up. One attack shattered her shoulder armor, another ripped the plating covering her teeth from the right side of her face, yet another cracked the armor around her ribs. Numerous dents appeared rapidly on all areas of her body before Vexes suddenly appeared before her again.

"You might be able copy my techniques, but you can't possibly hope to keep up with me!" Vexes gloated. Jennifer huffed out a bit of exhaust, her left arm dangled from the shoulder were Vexes destroyed the joint. Jennifer smiled, the dents in her body popped out, the shredded skin seemed to melt back together, and her arm snapped back straight. Vexes snarled.

"You were saying?" Jenny remarked. The verbal assault was to much for Vexes to take. She pushed out every bit of spare power she could muster into her rifting system. Her body melted into one of her multicolored portals but, Jennifer saw it and activated her own version. The two met face to face inside a kaleidoscopic tunnel. Vexes was shocked to see her rival there, "What's wrong? Didn't think I could catch you?" This was more than Vexes could take, she charged at XJ-9, pouring out everything she had as she flew through the strangely colored tunnel.

**Back in Tremorton**

** "Initiating rebooting sequence... … ...Waiting for OS response... … Received... OS Loading... 17%... ...46%... ...87%... ...100%... … Complete... Start up cycle Initiating... … … … Error 249... … Processing... … … …. …. … Previous activation cycle aborted... … Internal power source interrupted... …Restarting... ... ...Error 323… Containment field breached... … … External damage 43%... … … Starting recovery process... … Priority: Containment field... Routing nanites and available power... ...Containment field activated...Status: Critical... … Recovering previous data... … … … Complete... … … Restoring last session... … Error 318: Programming unstable... … … Restoring in recovery mode... … …. … Complete but with errors... ... HAVE A NICE DAY!**

Axle's optics snapped open, he found himself lying on the ground, "Wha...Happened?" He asked himself. He executed a search through his memory files. They only revealed bits and pieces of the mystery, "Jenny...I remember..." He recalled fleeting bytes of data that showed him fighting alongside and against her. He immediately preformed a wide perimeter scan, trying to find more clues. What he found was two immense radiation levels far off in the distance, "Vexes..." One he recognized instantly, the other felt familiar yet, different, "That has two be Jenny..." He pushed his damaged body to it's feet, activated his flight systems, and plotted a course straight for the powerful energies.

**Just outside of the Earths atmosphere**

_"Whoa...It's a lot bigger than what I thought..." _Sheldon pondered to himself while taking in the sight of all the nightmare power cores welded together. The ball of metal was an impressive 150ft in diameter, consisted of at least 400 thermonuclear devices. Sheldon sighed, he prepared his mind for what he was about to do. He raised his hands to the ball and pushed against it. The action caused the mass to move easily enough. He guided it towards the earth below and locked onto Vexes's energy signature. Turning up his engines, the entire mass picked up momentum. The silence of space only seemed to compound his inner loneliness, such quietness would cause anyone reflect upon themselves, _"I hurt so many people...I took the lives of Jenny's sisters..."_ He sniffled to himself inside the suit, _"I've done...Terrible things, I hurt the people I care for...And the one I love the most..." _The deafening sound of a sonic boom alerted him to realness of the situation, and the rising temperature gauges assured him of the fact, _"I'll never be able to repay my dept...The only way to make it right is to rid the world of the causes...Myself and Vexes!"_ More determined than ever in his life, Sheldon Oswald Lee made his decision. He cemented his conviction with a single tear that rolled down his deformed face, "Active self-destruct sequence. Code: Captain Crush."

_**"Self-destruct activated. Please specify countdown timer." **_The pleasant voice of the Silver Shell's operating system asked.

"Keep open. Run in background. Execute program on custom command...Lonely heart." Sheldon sat in his on hell, watching the fire of reentry through the Shell's optics. For the moment he pondered about his life on this beautiful blue plant. He found no comfort in the thought that his actions were a means to an end, and an end with meaning.

_**AURTHOR'S NOTE**_

_**Some of you may have noticed a change in aura color of the characters accompanied with a letter and number. There is a reason for this, I am a major nerd. Especially when it comes to astrology. I wont give any details but leave you with a challenge, learn more about Morgan-Keenan stellar classification. Learn something, I dare you. **_


	15. The Fated

**CHAPTER XV**

**The Fated**

_** "Individual destinies can, and often do, clash and entangle one another. Over time, the chains that seem to weigh us down, can become the very same that held us together."**_

_** R.D.M.**_

_**The Destroyed U.S.S. Johnson**_

_** "JOBS DAMN IT!" **_Nora cursed aloud at the dire situation unfolding around her. A sporadic spark flashed from her area of focus, popping out bits of orange and white hot metal. She reflexively jerked her hands from the jagged, oil dripping steel cavern, "_**3!**_ Insulate those generator output lines before they ignite a fire!" XJ-3 followed her creators orders, immediately excreting a thick foam from the tip of her clamp shaped hand onto the chard wires. Nora nervously ran the back of her hand across her sweaty brow. Exchanging the clear moisture beads for a swath of brownish fluids, smearing a vivid stain across the upper portions of her face. Melody's original power system was failing, and with it, her containment field, _**"Suction!"**_ XJ-3 halted her excretion and extended a tube from the very same claw into Melody's open chest cavity, cleansing the area for her Mother to work. Melody twitched and convulsed unnaturally on the operating table, sloshing bites of fluid about as she squirmed. XJ's 6 and 8 held her down against the table, as best they could.

_**"FA*zzzz*! WHY FATHER?!"**_ Melody screamed out, expelling a large glob and fine mist of oil that managed to land on everyone nearby. The entire scene had broken down into a gruesome, oily sight. Violent seizures plagued the artificial girl, forcing out guttural sounds through her damaged vocalization apparatus.

_**"Her systems crashing!"**_ Mogg exclaimed. He rapidly hot glued two oil spraying rubber tubes together, _**"She's going to loss her files if we don't get her power-core stabilized NOW!"**_ His goggles covered in fine droplets.

_**"I'm trying! I can hardly see through all this OIL!"**_ Her hands moved hastily through the tangled and mangled mess. Splicing wires and removing debris, "If we don't get the containment field generator online _**and**_ fully _**functional**_, then we'll all be missing _**far**_ more than _**files!**_" The power-core vividly blinked at an increasingly periodical rate. Everyone could feel, and detect, the rise in ambient temperature.

_**"BRAAAAD!"**_ Melody cried out. This time, she managed to break free of XJ-6's hold, rearing upwards, she knocked Mogg to the ground.

_**"Stabilize her this instant!"**_ Nora ordered, with evident frustration, while XJ-6 clambered to subdue her arm.

_**Meanwhile, in another part of the ship**_

_**"That's her!" **_Brad jumped to his feet, "She's in pain! I have to-"

"No, Bradly!" XJ-4 quickly rolled in-front of him, blocking his path, "Please remain calm. Mother and the others can handle it."

"You think I can just _**sit**_ here while someone _**I**_ care about is _**dieing**_?!" He asked rhetorically, "I can't do that 4. It's not in me." He tried to maneuver around her, she placed herself in-front of him again, resting her hands on his shoulders.

"Please, there's nothing you can do for her in there that you couldn't do out here." She tried to explain and reason , "Your presence in the room could cause more harm than good." Silly things, such as logic, are often lost on humans when in distress, something XJ-4's limited human relations software was not programmed to deal with. Brad grabbed her wrists and leaned his weight towards her.

"There's _**nothing**_ I can do out here!" He retorted as he tightened his grip. XJ-4 looked back at him with processing eyes. In his angered state, her blank stare only seemed to mock and fuel his anger.

"The data I have on emotions suggests that; praying to a higher power often soothes distraught humans..." Brad's face fell blank in surprise at her words, "You could try that." His left eye twitched. Recognizing that her sound reasoning's fell short of her goal, she shifted tactics, "You would be better off trying to fight Vexes by _**yourself,**_ than disturbing the operation, but that's not an option either." Brad's mind raced. In his enraged state, the idea of getting his hands on Vexes was the next best thing. Like a bursting levee in a river bend, all of his anger exploded into a new direction, and so did his body. He heaved himself towards XJ-4, to both's surprise, her depleted power offered little resistance. She stumbled backwards and fell. Brad quickly reached down and grabbed the small bow-tie upon her head, turned it counter-clockwise, and pulled. A small panel came off with it revealing a red button, "Hey! What are-" Her words went silent as the light in her optics blinked out, and her head fell flat to the ground.

"Emergency reset..." He spoke aloud, rubbing the sweat beads from his face, "Dale's hunch was right...I do have a thing for computer stuff..." He dropped the panel covering, "When I was at my father's station back at the base, I went through all of his old files. Man he was good at his job...Had a lot of information on all of the XJ's..." He looked around, trying to reference his location in the destroyed ship, "I'm sorry about that 4. I know your audio receivers have kicked back on, that's one of the first things that do...Tell them...I'm going where I belong. Beside my best friend!" After determining his position, Brad jogged off, _"All I got left is Jenny an Mel..."_ He thought to himself while slowing to check the room numbers of the destroyed hallway he was in. Finally, he located the room he was searching for, _"4 was right, I can't do anything for you here Mel..."_ He entered the room. Skyway infantry equipment lay scattered about, _"But I'm not just gonna sit by, not again!"_ He grabbed a standard issue black and red helmet and a anti-gravity pack. He dawned the mechanical device on his shirtless form like he would his school satchel, placing the helmet on next which immediately began displaying information on it's H.U.D. He ran back through the ship, straight to the operating room . It was not to see Melody. Instead, he quietly slipped in and took Nora's Gravity Gauntlets. He glanced briefly to the operating table, immediately regretting the decision, "I'm so sorry Mel..." He whispered the words while turning his back, "I'm no good to you here..." He shoved his hands into the mechanical gloves and paused amidst the screams of his love. A tear rolled down his cheek, he could not wipe it away due to his new hardware. He simply mustered his courage and left the room.

_**The Operating Room**_

_**"BRRRRAAADDD! NNNOOO!" **_Melody called out with even more vigorous distress.

_** "We must get her secured NOW!"**_ Nora barked, trying her best to keep composure, and mind her hands. XJ-6 slithered her arm around Melody's left, like a massive python. Together, her and Elena wrenched her body back down flat against the table.

"She's pretty strong!" XJ-6 commented as she and her sister units servos grunted. Mogg grasped the tables edge and pulled himself to his feet.

"_**We're losing her!**_ She's cycling through her files! Her C.P.U. will start dumping everything but operation code if we don't _**hurry!**_" He boastfully reminded, a little more enthusiasticly.

"Oil pressure is declining at a steady and predictable rate." Elena stated.

"I'm _**aware**_ Elena, thank you!" Nora, aggravatingly replied, "_**Mogg!**_ I need that pump circulating _**now!**_" Nora demanded. The poor man had only just gained his stability. He non-the-less grasped a wrench and continued on with his previous endeavor.

"The filter's _**clogged**_ with metal bits!" Mogg answered, "The...Damn thing...Wont..._**budge!**_" He pulled hard against the wrench, trying to free the main shaft. The shear power of will against steel, he applied to all of his strength to force the mechanism to work, _**"HHHUUUUNNNNN-GGGAAHHHH!" **_He strained with all his might, until finally, the part broke free, and the gears slowly and jerkily turned. The pump let out an audible screech as it ground through the metallic fragments lodged inside.

_"_You _***zzzzz* **_it...Can win..." Melody began with her static laden voice. Everyone gave her a curious glance as they carried on with their tasks, "Je_***zzzz* **_your...Not like...Her...You _***zzzzz* **_a heart..." Nora thought about the statement in the back of her head but, with the looming threat of a micro-nova, she had not the luxury of time, "Destroy her...J-Jenny..._**Destroy her!" **_Melody's last words resonated through the Johnson's shattered hull, fading into a faint echo, and falling silent.

_**Somewhere, between dimensions**_

In the eternity of milliseconds before her nemesis reached her, Jennifer's left eye twitched, ever so slightly. For reasons she couldn't readily explain, rather disturbing images of her friends ran through her mind. Visions of Melody's violent struggle for survival, Brad's reckless heroics and Sheldon's scornful tears. She would even swear that she could also heard their words, feel their emotions. The vicious growls roaring forth from her opponent seemed to melt away, and while her lunging form still grew closer, it seemed to be at a increasingly lethargic pace. Oddly enough, she found Melody's voice, echoing loudest through her mind amongst the scattered flashes of her loved ones, _"You __***zzzzz* **__a heart...Destroy her...J-Jenny..." _It seemed so strange. She thought on it all for a moment then refocused her gaze to the fight. Vexes's extended claws had reached within arms length. In a nearly pure, reflexive action, Jennifer snapped her hand out, matching and clasping Vexes's. The witch hesitated for an instant, long enough to receive a hefty blow to her metal gut. Jennifer released her grip and Vexes clutched her new dent but quickly recovered, throwing a perfect round house kick. Jennifer saw the attack and placed her forearm defensively in it's path. Unfortunately for her, the attack carried enough power to override her balance. She slammed into and through the side wall of the kaleidoscopic tunnel. Before she could stop the momentum from the impact, Jennifer found herself plowing through the Eiffel tower and burying into the foundation of a building that hence collapsed upon her. She burst through the dust and debris into the open air, angered for not holding her footing. Her expression quickly changed when she saw the cloud of metal beams raining down from the destroyed monument. She grit her teeth, thrusting her arms outward, she knew not what might happen but, felt in her heart that she could stop the debris fall. A kind of bio-magnetic field encompassed the floating shrapnel, halting the potentially deadly objects. Jennifer sighed in relief, "We were in Hawaii a few seconds ago..." She thought aloud for a brief moment. A sudden and strange sensation rippled in her brain, "There must be at lease 37 injured..." She could somehow feel all the individuals maimed in the buildings collapse, and their bio-energy. Minor variances in these signals corresponded appropriately with the the injury type and severity. She began to descend to the ground with the entire mess and plan out a course of action but, an awestruck crowd refused to budge, causing her to stop, _**"Come on guys! Move it!" **_She shouted in frustration. The locals held fast, some confused by her English, others gawking with their various recording devices, "Uh, I mean...Uh..._**Courez pour-**_Damn it! I can't speak French anymore..."

"Problem, Jennifer?" The raspy voice of her rival cut her ears as well as her heart, for she knew in the back of her mind that this would not end well for the bystanders, "Here you are...Trying to save their lives..." Jenny looked up at Vexes, hovering just a hundred feet or so above and in-front of her, "And they line up for death..." A note of glee could be ascertained from her tone, "It is their nature to die. Tell me...Have you ever heard the Earth tales of _**Sodom and Gomorrah?**_" Jenny tensed in nervousness. She had of course, against her Mother's wishes and away from her prying eyes, learned much of human religion, even sitting in on a sermon one Sunday morning, at the suggestion of Brad's parents that he go. She just wanted to keep him company. She had breezed through the entire Bible before the closing prayer. Making matters worse was the rising air temperature coupled with the clouds fading from the evening sky, "They are as _**children! **_All guilty of terrible crimes against our kind!" The hovering metal chunks closest to Vexes began to turn red and grew brighter by the second, "_**I**_ will _**punish**_ them! _**I **_will _**end**_ their retched _**filth**_ with _**fire and brimstone! **_Just as god did the sinners of those cities!" The metal reached it's white hot melting point and began raining down globs of molten death. Jennifer was left in an awkward predicament, she could not concentrate hard enough to catch all of the thousands of metal droplets and hold up all the steel, doing so would leave her completely vulnerable. Perhaps she should release her grip on the debris and try to save as many as she could before it all crashed down or engage Vexes directly, and hope that the humans would find safety before casualties occurred. Her mind raced as the first few blobs neared the people. She briefly glanced at Vexes who she found was eying her back from the corner of her optics with a smile. Obviously anticipating her decision.

_"It's all part of her plan. She's setting me up..." _Jennifer thought. With moments to spare she made her decision, _"This is going to be tricky, she's fast..." _She squinted her eyes and Vexes's smile deepened, _"I'll just __**have**__ to be faster!" _Instantly Jenny disappeared and the tons of death hanging above the Earth began to descend. Vexes faded into her portal as she calculated Jennifer's most likely point of return. Jennifer appeared just as she predicted only, much sooner than she anticipated. Jennifer had reached the nearest civilian instantaneously. Vexes rushed at her, claws bared and struck with enough power and intent to kill the human at least but, her fist connected with and erupted the ground. Frustrated, she leaped at the next closest person and they too vanished before her hands could do their deadly damage. Infuriated, Vexes scanned the humans with her optics, what she witnessed was a multitude of light blue flashes, each one blinking a human to safety. In the span of a second, the entire crowd had vanished. Vexes steamed with anger as the hot metal chunks rained around her, a few even bouncing off of her chassis. Jennifer blinked into reality before her, Vexes didn't give her a chance to remark or prepare. She lunged at Jenny, and the entire mess that use to compose the world renowned landmark came down upon them yet, slowed to a stop, not because either had actually halted the event, rather it was due to the laws of physics. You see, the closer one approaches the speed of light, the more time seems to drag. Vexes flung out her right leg, attempting to connect with a kick. Jennifer caught her ankle and used her attackers own momentum, spinning and hurtling Vexes through a brick building behind her. Vexes plowed through the third story wall and the levels above crumbled down on top of her. She retaliated by bursting out, using her powers on the loose masonry, she fired them off like bullets, pelting Jenny like a machine gun as she closed the distance between them. Jenny erected a shield of pure heat around her, evaporating the make shift rounds a foot before they touched her. She waited until Vexes entered the original debris field and, relying on her new found abilities, took control of one of the I-beams with her mind alone. Using it as a bat, she slammed it into Vexes's lower back and drove her into the ground. Vexes rose from the dust, shrugging off the blow and the massive piece of white hot steel bent around her.

"I almost felt that...Do try _**harder**_ next time..." Vexes mockingly dusted off her left shoulder. The Eiffel tower's remains descent slowly picked up, returning to a normal falling rate in the momentary pause of action. With the hot steel pounding out deep ruts in the ground, Jennifer eyed her opponent closely, knowing that Vexes's calmest moments, are often her most dangerous, "You need to _**kick**_ it up a notch!" An I-beam fell level with Vexes's waist. The witch planted her foot hard on one end of the massive 20ft, 2 ton metal shank, sending it hurdling towards Jenny like a helicopter blade. Jenny threw up her arms instinctively. The beam struck her, bending into a V shape around her body. It carried her across the grassy field, slamming her through a city bus an 8th mile away. She could hear the cries of panic coming from pedestrians as she ripped the steel from around her. After a quick check for human causalities, she let out a burst of energy that cleaved the remains of public transportation in two.

"There's to much at risk here. I've got to get her away from the city!" Jenny thought out loud.

_**"HHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAA!" **_A bloodthirsty cry from above alerted her to late. Vexes raced towards her at mach 3, her fingers dug deep into a massive beam for maximum grip, she slammed the hard metal into Jennifer's shoulder blades. A sonic boom thundered out for miles, shattering every window in sight from the force of the strike. The side walk gave and Jennifer was driven into the sewer system. The road way above cracked, buildings shifted, their now damaged foundations threatening to shed their weight. Vexes tossed aside the shattered stump of hot alloy she now held.

_**"Oooowww..."**_Jenny rubbed her head. Pain, though she had felt it before, was still an uncomfortable experience, made damn clear by no longer being able to shut off her receptors. A subtle pull in her mind pointed in a particular direction. Jenny turned towards the feeling in time to see Vexes burst through the thick concrete and land in the sewer before her.

"_**Cowering**_ in the sewers?! _**Licking**_ your wounds in the _**filth**_ of _**filth?**_! Your _**precious**_ humans wont last long...Much less this _**planet**_!" Jennifer grit her teeth, "Indeed, you are powerful now...But you can't see the _**big**_ picture..." Everything around Jenny seemed as though it began to tremble slightly, "Allow me to _**remind**_ you how _**fragile**_ this _**mud-ball**_ _**really**_ _**is!**_" The rumblings grew louder. Pieces of the sewer system began to fall from above. Jenny jumped to her feet. The ground split and broke. Jenny could somehow sense what Vexes was doing, see it inside her mind. Using her vast powers, Vexes was forcing her energies into the Earth, digging deeper by the second, trying to crack it's mantle.

_**"Stop this Vexes!**_ Your fight is with me! Leave them out of it!" Jenny proclaimed.

"_**HAHAHAHAAAA! **_Foolish girl! My fight _**started**_ with them! You've just been in my _**way!**_" As the planet heaved, Jennifer came to terms with her naivety. Vexes's words echoed in her head.

_"She wont stop...She'll never stop..." _A brief memory of all the images and words of her friends flashed through her brain, _"You were right...You were all right..." _Jenny tightened her fists, _"I've stopped Vexes numerous times, but I never put her __**down...**__" _She ground her teeth harder, making an audible noise, _"I thought she would change...I thought...I could save her from herself..."_ Jennifer's energies began to rise, _"I can't make that mistake now. There's to much at stake!" _She squinted menacingly at the evil metal women.A white aura began to form around her, Vexes took note, but when the energy began to turn a few shades towards blue, Vexes's optics nearly popped.

_**"There's NOWAY you can produce that much POWER!" **_Vexes yelled. Her own energies swamped by Jennifer's, she was forced to pull her power from the Earth, rerouting it all to help her remain steady through the tidal fluctuation of Jennifer's power. The sewage around them vaporized and the the streets above started to collapse. The concrete itself began to melt and boil.

"I'm sorry, but you _**obviously**_ don't know _**me**_ or the power of the human _**spirit**_!" Vexes took a few steps back, for the first time in millennia, true fear crept into her circuits, "And I am sorry...That I can't save you...Or allow you to remain active." In the blink of an eye, Jenny had struck Vexes squarely in the chest, the kinetic energy of impact plowed through the maze of tunnels, destroying the sewer system, and collapsing a full city block above them with the shock-wave. Jennifer had of course teleported all lifeforms within ground zero to safety. Vexes found herself a mile above the Earth a mere moment later, leaking oil from her cracked breastplate and working out the static in her optics. A notification alerted her to an incoming projectile, her automated processes kicked in and she instinctively let loose a powerful beam of white energy in Jennifer's direction.

_**"UH!"**_Jenny stopped abruptly in the air, the beam a few mere feet away. She sneered, blue electricity arching around her body, _**"YYYAAAHHH!"**_She spun, backhanding the energy with her right fist. Thunder echoed across the horizon, the attack deflected out into space, passing rather closely by Vexes. The fallen Queen watched her energies disappear out into the void with wide optics. She turned her gaze back to Jennifer in time for a right optic crushing blow. Before the momentum of the strike could carry her away, Jenny grabbed a hold of her long pigtails.

_**"This is for Brad's family!"**_ Jenny sunk her fingers into the metal and yanked them from the Queen's head. A burst of sparks, a few spurts of oil and her pale blue fists were filled with crumpled alien alloys. Vexes's systems nearly froze trying to process the onslaught of data flooding her C.P.U., _**"And Misty!" **_Jenny cupped her hands tightly together, bringing them to her side and then thrusting them back out quickly, striking Vexes squarely in the abdomen. She released a burst of blue energy from her palms that exploded a fist sized hole through the Queen's stomach plate which, she immediately grasped in her shock, _**"AND MELODY!" **_Jenny performed a forward flip, bringing her left heel down upon Vexes's cranium, connecting with a titanic force. Vexes sailed across the hemisphere into the Himalayan mountains, careening through the Everest peak and embedding in the valley below. She forced her grinding gears to pull herself upright once more, Jennifer was waiting for her, anger seething from her very soul. The snow steamed around them both. Vexes spat out a few more of her teeth, _**"And this...Is for what you did to Sheldon!" **_Jennifer forced the words out in a near growl through clenched teeth. She held her left arm perpendicular to her chest, the appendage rippled at the elbow and seemed to flow towards her hand. The waves flatted and elongated her forearm into a long blade. Vexes calculated millions of scenarios in her C.P.U., trying to find the best solution to her new predicament. She was outmatched, badly outmatched. Suddenly, another notification alerted her, and a new variable was added to her equations.

_**"Not today!"**_ Vexes forced a dense ball of energy into the ground through her feet, in-turn, a three foot thick piece of rock jutted out from the Earth right in front of Jenny. She was not impressed. Hopping backwards, she easily dodged the lackadaisical attack. She refocused her gaze and found Vexes hovering in the air above her previous locating, a portal opened behind her, "The battle is yours! But there is more than one way to win a war!"

_**"You can't run from me!"**_ Jenny responded. Vexes realized that her boast should not be taken lightly.

"Who said I _**didn't**_ want you to catch me?" Vexes retorted crypticly as she disappeared. Jennifer tensed and began her pursuit, vanishing instantly. Tracking Vexes was fairly easy, even though she was traveling between dimensions, Jenny could feel her movements. What wasn't easy, was dealing with the site upon reaching her enemy, _**"Don't. Move. A. Servo." **_Vexes greeted Jenny's arrival coldly, "Not unless you _**want**_ your beloved human's _**fluids**_ everywhere!" Poor Bradly hadn't made it very far in his prideful endeavor. Vexes caught him mid-flight, just outside of Tremorton. Her right arm was seated under his, with her claws tight around his neck. One sharp digit from her left hand tapped against his face, menacingly close to his eye.

_**"Jenny!" **_The familiar voice called out to her.

_**"Brad!" **_Jennifer called back to her old friend.

_**"Silence!" **_Vexes tightened her grip around the red heads throat. Brads face took on a maroon tint, veins bulged across his face, "A good General knows how to win battles. A _**great**_ General knows when to _**retreat!**_" She snarled at Jenny through her gaped teeth, "I'm _**aware**_ that Melody has disable the Nightmare power-cores. _**SO...**_I am _**taking**_ this human as _**insurance**_! And I will _**leave**_ this planet _**without**_ resistance!" Brad let out a strained grunt, _**"Or else!"**_ Jennifer desperately mulled over the situation in her head. Every scenario concluded the same, she couldn't do anything faster than Vexes could squeeze. The site of Bradly's laboring breath and futile attempts to pry away the deadly talons slowly chocking off his air supply, were a heavy distraction. Jenny's mind raced, she couldn't think clearly, Brad's watery eyes seemed to swallow all hope of his salvation.

_**"Yerrr...Fennniss..."**_ Brad abruptly gurgled out. Vexes, as well as Jenny, adverted her eyes to the squirming life form pulling at her arm.

"Is there something you want to say human?" Vexes questioned, loosening her grip somewhat. Brad gasped in a few lungfuls of oxygen.

"I...said..." A subtle click came from his gauntlets simultaneously, accompanied by arks of pinkish energies, and a low but building hum. He grabbed a hold of her forearm, _**Your! FINISHED!" **_The hum peaked, and the powers collecting within the mechanical gloves transferred into Vexes's arm.

_**"GAAHH! YOU FILTH!" **_The sudden jolt of electricity, equivalent to the gravitational pull of the Earth, caused her arm to lose it's strength momentarily. Brad wriggled free. Jenny was as surprised as Vexes when Brad, instead of taking the opportunity to run, whipped around to face his capture.

_**"And here's a little love, from ME! TO YOU!"**_ He slammed his metal clad fist against Vexes's jaw. A small pink shock-wave emitted from the impact. Vexes was forced backwards a few feet as her head cocked sideways. She turned back to him, a small scuff of fresh, paint-less metal gleaming from the strike.

"I hope it was worth your _**LIFE!**_" She viciously thrust her right arm towards him. Burying her four talons, all the way to her palm, into his rib cage around his heart, knocking the Skyway helmet from his head. The thick, cracking, wet crunch seemed to linger in the air. A brutal look of deep, horrific shock splashed across Bradly's face. The paralyzingly fearful moments of knowing that ones mortality hangs by a thread not your own, stunned Jennifer into a brief state of shock induced in-action, _**"SUFFER!"**_ The bare, bloody flesh around her hand sizzled, Brad convulsed, thousands of volts arced through his body. The borrowed Skyway tech and gloves glowed red hot, melting into his skin. The entire action had only taken a split second. Vexes promptly flung Brads limp form towards the Earth, violently tearing her claws from his body, _**"His heart still beats!"**_ Vexes turned back to her enemy, _**"But not for long!"**_ Jenny glanced back and forth from her falling friend to Vexes, "_**Fight me!**_ _**And watch your human die! Or flee to him! The choice is yours!"**_ Just as she had made the decision to save him, a welcomed guest swooped in, and caught the crippled human.

"Take care _***zzzz***_ _**bitch!**_ I'll get him to safety!" DV-2 boasted as he returned to the field of battle. Jennifer's entire body tensed with rage but, could she not take away her eyes until Axle had landed successfully with her friend.

_** "YOU!" **_Vexes hissed aloud at her son. She was as shocked to see him active, as she was to see him at all. Their eyes locked for the briefest of instances yet, one could indulge that Vexes would have smiled, if circumstances were different.

_**"HHHAAAA"**_ Jenny, not willing to waste a second longer, raised her hands above her head and clasped them together. Vexes barely caught the movement, she threw her arms up to defend but, her forearms were no match for Jenny's strength. The strike shattered Vexes's arm plating, and sent her hurdling into the ground, only a hundred yards or so from Brad and Axle, _**"Bout time!"**_ Jenny spoke with a hint of harsh sarcasm, glancing slightly towards Axle while descending back to the Earth. He glared back at her. Realizing now that his force restart was part of her plan all along.

"He's nearly dead..." Axle informed after a quick scan. Jenny landed close by and attempted to speak but, was stopped.

"_**No! NO!" **_Vexes spat back from the dusty crater, regaining her footing from the hit, "I can _**not**_ lose!" The ground trembled, _**"I WILL NOT LOSE!" **_A high pitched sound started to grow from her body, _**"You'll deactivate! YOU WILL ALL DEACTIVATE!"**_

_**"No one else dies today!"**_ Jennifer drew Vexes's attention, _**"I can't promise the same for a **__**machine!"**_ The two locked eyes.

_**"Abomination!" **_Vexes fired her eye lasers, Jenny deflected them with her left hand. She rushed at Jennifer, ramming her shoulder into her abdomen. Jenny dug her feet into the soil, stopping the momentum. She grabbed Vexes around the waist and lifted her above her head.

_**"HHHUUU!" **_Jenny power slammed her opponent into the ground hard. A Fifty foot plume of dust and debris rocketed upwards. Axle shielded Brad's body from the ground level shock-wave, _**"Get up! GET UP!" **_Jenny commanded the damaged robot at her feet. The broken Queen slowly retrieved her footing. Jennifer exploded, letting loose a blurry, barrage of boxer style blows upon Vexes face plate and upper body, each seemed to ring louder than the last.

"Ha.." _**Clang! **_Vexes chuckled between hits. _**Clang! Clang!**_ _**"Haha!" **_Jenny's fist were inflicting a heavy toll, leaving behind a dent with each with-drawl, _**CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! "HAHAHAHAH!" **_The sound coming from Vexes still grew in octaves, reaching the point of becoming annoying, even to Jennifer.

_**"Why are you laughing!? What's so DAMN FUNNY!?"**_ Jennifer demanded an answer to her query, _**"What the hell is that noise!?"**_ Vexes's giggling slowly petered off. She turned her mangled head to the right and spat out the majority of metal teeth and oil from her damaged face.

"Don't you feel it...? In your _**main structure?**_" She smiled as best her crushed face could allow. Jenny had ignored the feeling that sweep her moments before Vexes's words. It was as if her entire being was a nearly imperceptible amount heavier, "The weight of the world on your shoulders...Crushing you _**flat?!**_" The wind picked up, the ground shuttered. The high pitched racket suddenly stopped, "Do you feel it?" Her cracked eyes gazed deep into Jenny's, piercing her soul. A sudden, odd pattern of radiation rippled through the air. The feeling it carried chilled Jennifer to her core, she couldn't explain why but, it seemed to reek of death. Vexes's body sunk an inch or so, cracking the ground. Axle felt it too, a rush of realization ran through him, "The all _**consuming**_ feeling of f_**ailure!?**_" As the words left her mouth, a thunderous roar resonated across the sky. Sheldon lee, and his cargo, pierced the clouds. It seems that Murphy's law was in full affect on this day.

"_**Jenny!**_" Axle called out, "_**She's activated self-destruct! Her core is collapsing!**_" Jenny cringed.

"But that means-!" Jennifer's eye site automatically changed, she suddenly found herself gazing through Vexes's chest, allowing her to clearly view the growing threat. She witnessed the final moments of the flickering mini-star as it's mass shrunk to a pinpoint, then erupted out a blue shock-wave that nearly knocked her back, leaving behind a tiny Black hole. Her mind raced, _"Think Jenny!" _Gravity shifted, Jenny found herself much heavier, _"I can't fight her here! Even if I win, the Earth is gone!" _Vexes's containment field failed, the ground cracked and rose towards the incredible pull, _"I have to get her off the planet!" _Simultaneously, Axle came up with the only means he could calculate on how to save Brad.

"I don't _***zzzzz* **_this will even work on a human..." He produced a hypodermic needle from his remaining index finger and injected a small amount of metallic liquid into Brads neck. He retracted the tool and laid the young man fully on the ground. The building threat of his mother pulled his optics from his old friend. He watched, as a hole sucked into Vexes's chest, fully exposing the swirling pit. Jennifer focused on Vexes's head, locking onto her main C.P.U. She fired a small, bright blue dot of energy, hoping to shutdown the catastrophe. To her chagrin, the energy bullet curved downward, arching from it's intended path and vanishing into the vortex.

_**"This is it XJ-9! Your DARKEST day! The Earths final hour!" **_Vexes boasted.

_**"It's always darkest, before dawn!"**_ Jennifer reached out with here mind, contacting Sheldon, _"Brace yourself Sheldon! Things are about to get hairy!"_

_ "J-Jenny? Is that you?" _Sheldon asked the new found yet, familiar voice that entered his mind.

_ "Yes...I have a plan, but I need you to trust me." _The sweet angles voice gave him more confidence than ever, _"Can you do that?"_

_ "O-oh yeah!" _He replied.

_ "I need you to make sure that you hit Vexes with that ball! No matter what! You have to hit her!" _Sheldon gulped. He knew that, she knew that, he could not survive the resulting explosion. Jenny felt his apprehension, _"I promise I wont let anything happen to you. I swear it!"_

With little hesitation, he agreed,_"Alright! Anything for you, my love!" _Jennifer smiled inwardly, the reason seemed to escape her at the moment.She belted out the power, pushing her new body to it's limits. Blue energy and sparks swirled around her. Her teeth clenched, she prepared herself for the arduous task at hand. The final ushering of her lifelong enemy into oblivion was not to be taken lightly. Trillions of variables most be calculated to ensure the safety of the Earth, even when factoring in a slim margin for her own survival. The ground split as her power rose, lifting her into the air. Vexes was unimpressed, she rushed at her foe again, dragging large chunks of rock in her wake.

_**"YYAAARRRHHH!" **_The mechanized witch collided with the humanoid angel. An eruption of blue energy rippled out. Jenny braced herself with her energy and held her position,__even as Vexes rained thunderously heavy blows down upon her, _**"You may have the power of a star! But I have the power to CONSUME THEM!" **_The hits continued, Jenny received them as best she could, all the while her aura grew brighter, _**"A few moments more XJ-9! And I will consume your very soul!" **_The Queen screamed. Her attacks cut into and broke Jenny's flesh, yielding small trickles of a maroon fluid from the wounds, still she remained, tensed and unmoving, blocking those she could without losing concentration and weathering the rest. A few organic snaps emitted from her sides with some of the body blows yet, still she remained. The pull of gravity had become immense, ripping trees up by the root, reaching out to the fallen town, pulling the homes from their foundations. The atmosphere above buckled, a visible dip could be seen from space. The angrier Vexes grew, the more voracious the vortex seemed to become, __Vexes's voice rang out through the cloud of debris collecting around them, _**"Fall damn you! FALL!"**_

_**The U.S.S. Johnson Wreckage **_

Sharp wit and quick action had finally won out in the tension thick moments. Melody's containment field had been stabilized and her herself placed in a recovery state. All involved sat and leaned about the area, their minds adrift in a sea of thought. No one dared call to the triumph, momentary instances of celebration had become a luxury, even for the slightest of victories. Nora flicked a smoldering butt to the floor and began to clean the muck from herself with a piece of torn cloth. Suddenly, Elena received an alert, _**"Processing..." **_Everyone immediately snapped their eyes to her, "My sensors are detecting a gravitational anomaly within XJ-9's vicinity, coupled with falling barometric pressure, and a noticeable shift in ordinary wind direction towards a large scale cyclonic pattern. All seem to be emanating from a finite point." A cold chill ran down Nora's spine, people whispered amongst themselves behind her, "Evidence seems to suggest a gravity vacuum." Mogg joined in with Nora's shocked expression by displaying one of his own, "With a 99.999999% certainty, I state that a black hole is present on Earth, it is actively consuming and growing. Estimated time until it reaches Earth mass_**...Processing...**_three minutes." News such as this dwarfs any progress made towards an achievable victory. The small crowd turned in audience towards the small, white haired women. Nora seemed to soak in the ramifications of such knowledge before bowing her head.

"We walked in the path of giants, and in their footsteps...Fell..." Failure is a normal part of the scientific process. Dealing with it, a basic principal. But failure on a scale such as this, with the staggering amount of lives at stake, incalculable.

"What are you saying?" One spoke up, "Are you just giving up?" The mind frame of the crowd heavily hinged on the question asked.

_**"Don't you fools get it?!"**_ Mogg asked, half angered, _**"WE'VE LOST!" **_At that moment XJ-4 burst into the room.

_**"Mom! Brads gone!"**_ She shouted.

_**"What?!"**_ Nora jolted.

"He found my reset button-" She was silenced by Nora's interruption.

__"Oh whats another ember on the inferno? We're already dealing with powers far beyond the comprehension of the average mind...Jennifer, even in her current form, could never hope to stand to the titanic might of a black hole..." Nora steadied herself against the wall, "All was for nigh...And nigh for us all..."

"That explains one of the energy anomalies." Elena spoke up.

"_**One**_ of the anomalies?" Nora turned and asked, "What _**other**_ anomalies?"

"I have detected an organic signal in close proximity to ground zero, most likely Bradly Carbunckle's. I also detected two separate and distinct bio-mechanical energy signatures. One closely matches Axle's energy though, slightly off. Most likely his weakened power-core and deteriorating containment field has skewed the signal somewhat. However, I am 93.87% sure it is him." Elena informed.

"And the other? Is it Jenny?" 4 asked.

"Affirmative." Elena responded, "Her signal has been fluctuating rapidly since Melody input the algorithm into her C.P.U. but, the signals baseline matches that of Jennifer Diane Wakeman." Nora's heart skipped a beat.

"Are the signals at the event horizon stable?" Mogg propped. Elena remained motionless, electronic components whirred inside her C.P.U.

"Affirmative." She finally answered, "My sensors indicate that Jennifer is still active and withstanding the devastating forces at play." The entire room peaked with the latest sliver of hope, even Nora looked to her 8th daughter in shock.

"That's not..." Nora thought upon the information briefly, "I-I can't even explain-! She should be-!"

"_**...Processing...**_Her form should be broken down at the molecular level, and the data of her very being smeared across the surface of Vexes's power source." Nora blinked, still reeling, "You taught me standard model black hole theory while developing XJ-9."

"That doesn't make sense! How is she still alive!" XJ-6 asked.

"_**...Processing...**_We are indeed dealing with forces far beyond our own comprehension. I suggest a spiritual gathering, with the mutual benefit of our world at heart. Perhaps we can replicate the results of our previous attempt?" Elena more or less asked her Mother. Everyone looked upon her, awaiting her response. Nora had always regarded religion as a comforting crutch, only leaning against it in the past to support those around her rather than herself. But the look in everyone's eye seemed to beg for her to try.

"Then for my daughters, and for our world...We shall pray..."

_**Ground Zero**_

The maroon fluids, leaking from Jenny's wounds themselves began to draw towards Vexes's chest, even small bits of her tattered clothing pulled away from her body. It was now or never. With the fate of billions at her back, and the ruin of all at her front, the time to act had struck. Vexes shot towards her again, Jennifer countered by grasping her arm. She pulled her in and planted her right knee solidly into her abdomen, increasing the diameter of the hole in her stomach in the process. Jenny then spun around and hurled Vexes towards the massive ball of nuclear bombs Sheldon was pushing into the Earth. Vexes easily halted herself, a mile or so, before connecting with the deadly sphere, "You think you can be _**rid**_ of me so _**easily**_?! I've been around for a _**thousand years!**_ I'll _**devour**_ the power that _**foolish boy**_ is _**hauling!**_" The gloating of the Queen was lost on Jennifer as she prepared her final attack, _**"All is lost to you! Even if you destroyed my body, my core would still grow and consume your world!" **_Suddenly, DV-2 materialized behind his creator, quickly snapping his arms under Vexes's, settling into a Full-Nelson, _** "Aarrhhgg! YOU?!" **_She gasped in surprise. The old, pleasant sensation suddenly flowed through her mind again, totting with it words that seemed to hurt something new her chest.

_"It's time...I'm sorry, but I must go." _Jenny was torn by what she wanted to do, and what she must. She knew he was right, and it could only be moments before the writhing witch broke free. It was now or never, and never will be to late. With her welling emotions fueling new levels of power, she clenched her teeth to her foe.

"Consume it..." Jennifer growled lowly, _**"Consume it!"**_ Then boasted loudly. As the words echoed, a thin red line began to draw in her skin, vertically, between her breast. Slowly, it spread apart, tearing a moist, reddish tunnel through her organic muscle tissue to a metallic, bone-like plate, just before her heart. With great and obviously painful effort, the bone-plate broke and split, folding outwardly to reveal a magnificent sight. A bright blue, pulsating, fist sized mass of energy. Each beat that resonated from the humanly shaped organ rippled the atmosphere for a mile, _**"TAKE IT ALL!"**_ She spate loudly. Vexes could only look on in shock as the massive wave of white energy over took her. The initial strike shredded Vexes's body paneling, her arms shattered and broke away at the elbow hing. Her eyes melted. Axle's arms turned a cherry red, sections of his outer armor, not covered by Vexe's body, boiled off. The Queen still remained, her power-core began to swallow up the titanic amount of power pouring onto her.

_**"HAHAHAHAHA!" **_Vexes gurgled out through a bottom jaw-less oil spewing hole, _**"I told you, there is nothing that you can do!" **_The mad tyrant's boast fell on deaf ears, Jennifer poured out power that she herself, had no idea she was capable of producing. All the while, the energy flow pushed her foe further towards the ball of thermonuclear weapons. Axle held on with his melting arms, not allowing her to deflect or defend the attack. Jenny concentrated hard, the next step would be difficult. The instant Vexes and Axle made contact with the power-cores, she teleported herself, Vexes, and the ball of weapons to the out skirts of the solar system, far away from the Earth. Leaving behind a shocked and bewildered Sheldon.

_**Pluto, just off planet**_

Jenny was fairly certain that she heard Vexes scream as the power of all her dismantled Nightmares burst, wedging her between their energies and Jennifer's, though she knew it could only truly be her imagination in the vacuum. Jennifer's vision adjusted to the the blinding light as she stopped her energy beam, allowing her to see the horrid, twisted remains of Vexes's body and the black hole absorbing the explosion into her chest. Axle still clung to her. His arms had been fused to what remained of her, his body had been disintegrated from the waist down, and half of his face was gone. Jenny looked to her friends eye, knowing that there was only one way to left to stop the vortex and end the madness.

_"I...I know what I must do..."_ Jennifer thought. The only option left was for her to sacrifice herself, detonating her core to ensure that the deadly vortex was scattered to the heavens, or at least pushed far out of the heliosphere. She briefly glanced in the direction of her home world, _**"**__For them...For their lives..."_ She paused to prepare herself mentally, _"I wounder...Do beings such as us go to heaven?" _She pondered the old thought numerous times in the past but, the far side of this final moment seemed to finally hold the answer.

_"No."_ Axle's voice stated flatly. Jenny froze, "_I've been lucky to know life as you have. I've felt love and hate...Passion and pain...I am grateful for the moments I shared in your life but, mine was but a fleeting moment of time...You have so much to live for." _The weight in her chestfelt heavier with each word, _"My time has come...Let everything she wrought be gone, and in time fade..." _Jenny watched, as Axle forced the remainder of his power through his chest, punching a hole clean through Vexes. Her power core eagerly soaked up the energies, even though little remained of her body. At the peak of his release, Axle ejected his damaged core into her. His eye flickered as the Queen doubled over, her vortex sated, for the moment. Jenny reached out to him, praying the action would somehow stop the events. The sweet sensation entered her mind once more, _"I will always-" _A sudden burst of blinding light enveloped all of her senses as his core went supernova. Jenny struggled against the clash of incalculable forces as the momentum of the searing energies peaked then, rushed inward. She found herself trapped inside the time space distortion with no way to escape as one black hole collapsed onto the other.

_**The U.S.S. Johnson Wreckage**_

A sudden, odd buzz drew XJ-4's attention to the split ceiling of the twisted ship's hull. Mid prayer, she announces, _**"Look you guys!"**_ The entire group turned in unison towards her indication, bearing witness to a breathtakingly beautiful phenomenon. A brilliant dot of multicolored light blinked into existence, filling a 3rd of the sky, then, vanished as quickly as it came, _**"It's her! She did it!"**_ XJ-4 exclaimed again. Everyone smiled and mumbled to themselves, quietly celebrating the thought of a victorious conclusion, _**"I know it's her!"**_ All, except Nora. The old woman turned to Elena amongst the crowd of jovial people. Her creation could glean her creators questions purely by expression. Elena expanded her sensors range and sensitivity. The crowds noise faded in Nora's mind, her complete attention now on her daughter.

"_**Processing...**_Weak life sign detected. Signal matches pre-installed patterns of Bradly Carbunckle's biological processes. Condition: Sever...Scanning further..." Nora flinched but, patiently waited for further news. The group had heard them speaking and turned to listen, "I am detecting a vast, expanding sphere of energies correlating with recorded energy patterns of Vexes...Signal seems to be dissipating in direct relation to expansion rate. Traces of matching energy patterns for Axle detected within background radiation of explosion..." Her heart sank, and everyone's face seemed to reflect Nora's feelings, "Slight shift in Neptune's orbital path...Planetoid designated Pluto could not be found...No matching signal detected for Jennifer Diane Wakeman." The news hit hard, straight through the heart and oil pumps of the Wakeman family. XJ-4 fell to the ground sobbing, XJ-6 kneeled down beside her, placing her one arm on her shoulder to try and comfort, a digital tear formed in the corner of her monitor face's eye. The somber mood slowly filled the room, stifling the voices of everyone. Nora clenched her fists, a twinkle formed in both her eyes. Mogg placed his hand on top of his watch, gazing, with obvious regret, and rubbing the screen gently with his thumb as a digital puppy frolicked underneath, "_**Processing...**_Approaching bio-mechanical signal detected." The crowd perked, "87% match to Sheldon Lee's bio-patterns...47% match to previous models of The Silver Shell."

_**"H-he survived?!"**_ Mogg questioned. The sound of highly charged particles roaring forth from a high tech flight engine exclamated his question. The entirety of the tattered room rushed outside to greet the return of the one that they shund only a short time earlier.

_**"BRADLY!"**_ Nora ran to the unconscious form dangling from Sheldon's metal arms. The young man inside the metal giant heaved out a sigh. They were not as happy to see him as they were Brad but, at least they seemed to forgive his previous transgressions for the moment.

"He's out cold, hurt pretty bad to but, his vitals all suddenly stabilized along the way." Sheldon informed. The crowd kept their distance from him still, he pretended not to notice. Nora examined the burns and bloody wounds while Sheldon lay the teen on the ground.

"My god...His skin seems to be _**bonding**_ with the metal components..." Nora observed as she tried to pull off the gloves.

"_**Processing...**_Vital signs are fluctuating. Patterns no longer match Bradly Carbunkles." Elena stated. She prodded a particularly bloody chest hole with her cold index finger and scanned the red fluid intently for a few moments, "DNA analysis indicates that this is indeed one Bradly Carbunkle. Foreign bodies in the blood stream appear to be...Rearranging the organic structure at the cellular level, incorporating the technology he is wearing. Vital signs are, in-fact, stable."

"That's a relief." Mogg placed a hand to on the young man's forehead, "Little warm..."

_**"What about Jenny?!"**_ XJ-6 interjected, _**"Where is she?!" **_The air seemed to grow still, while the question echoed through all of their minds. Sheldon prepared himself to answer.

"When I left earlier...I made the decision to..." Sheldon stumble on his words, "I didn't want to live anymore...Not after all I had done." Nora seemed to softened towards him somewhat, "I chose to end my life in an attempt to destroy Vexes...A selfish act I know but, It was the only way I could see to help and...To make amends for my actions." He scuffed the ground with his right foot nervously, "As I broke through the atmosphere with the Nightmare power-cores, I heard her voice ring out inside my head..." The sobs were becoming harder to stifle, "Af-after all that I did...She..She still saved me..." Until the could be held back no longer, "She sacrificed herself to save me..." The heavy tone of the Silver Shell poorly conveyed the tear-filled eyes inside the hollow chest cavity. The mighty robot, dulled, dented, and scrapped, fell to his knees, covering his optics.

"What do we do now?" Mogg asked, gazing at the destruction around them. Nora turned her eyes to sky, peering at the section in-which the massive explosion took place.

"The only thing we can...We move forward. We must attend to our wounded...Rebuild our cities...Repair our lives, and...Remember...T-the fallen..." Two small droplets trailed down her tired face, dripping from her cheek to the ground. Everyone took the moment to pause and silently reflect upon the actions of a young robot girl before slowly making their way back to the shattered lives they have left. Nora stood her ground, setting her gaze on the young genius, wrapped in metal. With her children approaching from behind, Nora's mind began to imagine. She couldn't help but smile through the tears. The present, no matter how dark, was the end, and the light of the future, a future brought about by her own daughter, was just beginning to shine.

"Your still alive...I know it...You didn't give up on me...And I wont give up on you. I'll wait for you my love...I'll wait...No matter how long..." Sheldon looked to the stars, pondering the future and what to do with his angels gift of a second chance on life.


	16. A Lesson In Time

**CHAPTER XVI**

**A Lesson In Time**

_** "It is said, that time will heal all wounds. A common misunderstanding, rather, it covers them in thick scars. Scars we will carry for the rest of our lives, reminding us of who we are. They act as mental reference points, leading us back to where we are from and physically seal in the emotions of our past. Do our scars not become us? And we them? Can good ever emerge, from such an encasement of pain?"**_

_** R.D.M**_

_**Tremerton: Newly Designated Hero's Point: 8/2/2084**_

_**One year later...**_

The first, warming rays of sun light stretched out across the land. The wind picked up, pushed onward by the impact of countless photons. The now restless air brings the particles radiant warmth to the skin of one Bradly Carbunkle. He brushes aside a few wayward strands of his red locks, set dangling in his line of sight from the warm breeze. He briefly pondered trimming it's length. It had, after all, grown a bit longer than his usual taste, though it did carry the added benefit of distinction. The months of recovery following his injuries were a blur of rehabilitation and lab tests, leaving little time for himself, let alone haircuts. It did however, help that Melody found his new hairstyle appealing. An occasionally obscured view was a small price to pay, he supposed, considering that he should be dead. He brought his hand from his head and took a moment to study it against the backdrop of the rising sun. It would be a long time still, before the fresh coat of stark surprise wore away from the striking sight of himself. Vexes's attack had left lasting affects, far beyond the anticipated scarring. The over heated equipment burned it's way into his body, boiling through his muscle tissue and into the bone. The electric pulse she fired through him had enough intensity to destroy his nervous system. What happened next defied logic, and could only be described as a miracle. The nanites that Axle had injected into him, as a last ditch effort to save his life, began to work, baffling both Nora and Mogg. Sheldon theorized that the residual energy left in his body produced a similar signal as damaged circuitry, signaling the nanites to activate. Once activated, the nanites began to restructure the burnt out nerves just as they would in a robotic body, incorporating the foreign metal in the process, "Whatever." He poetically surmised, letting the Gray, metal plated hand fall to his side. He heaved out a deep sigh, partly for his self but, mostly for the entirety of his experiences. Whatever indeed, the end result was all the same, he was alive and living a normal life, well, more-or-less. The Skyway equipment was now a permanent part of his being but, not so much in an unflattering way. The nanites managed to make the transition between metal and flesh look natural, more-or-less, and left him with the ability to activate the flight systems as well as the gravity gloves. Although, with great mental effort. He gazed out across the land. The spectacular view stirred thoughts of the past, which in turn, run rampant through his mind. The peak at which his feet sat had once known the name Look Out Point, a popular place amongst teens in his hay day, a place he himself had once spent a few blissful afternoons, _"Jenny..."_ The thought passed as he focused on the busy little dots scurrying about the town below. Most would be wrapped up in the site of the Sunrise itself, bringing new light to the recovering city below, but not him. He saw the beauty in everyone coming together to rebuilt their home.

"Beautiful day huh?" Melody's voice landed on his ears, "Your up early. Been testing your bio-flight systems I see..." The iron maiden landed softly a short distance behind.

"Yeah..." He somewhat sighed, "Just needed some air..."

"It's only been a few days since your discharge, maybe take it easy? For me?" Melody's tone clearly conveyed her concern. She approached him on the left and gripped his metal hand. He briefly glanced down, hearing the gentle scrape of metal from her touch, then to her optics and smiled. She reciprocated, and the two gazed out across the awaking town, "You know..." Melody broke the silence, "It's this exact spot where they'll set the monument." She smiled at him, then glanced over her shoulder, "She'll look beautiful...All carved out of marble..."

"Yep...This place sure will look different." He replied at length.

"I think it's fitting...A memorial wall with the names of everyone who lost their lives..." She tried to calculate it's grandeur, "Jenny standing out-front...It'll be a wonderful site, especially when the Sun rises." Brad nodded in agreement. Melody frowned a bit to herself, it pained her that he was uncommunicative, "Things are slowly getting back to normal." She changed the topic, trying to strike up the conversation again. This time it worked.

"It's pretty amazing what can get done when we're all on the same page...As sad as it is, the war brought the whole planet together like never before. Even got the United Governments to actually _**unite**_." He smirked, "I wouldn't call it normal, but I sure hope it's the new normal." Melody squeezed his hand a bit, she loved to see him full of optimism. He released her hand and turned to look over the area designated for the monument himself.

"Speaking of getting back to _**normal...**_I got a message from Skyway..." Brad turned back to her with a stern but curious stare, "All the way from the guys overseeing the Skynet project. They're putting together a new mission and, with Dale gone...They've nominated you to lead it. With supervision of course..." This definitely grabbed his attention.

"Why me? I'm just a guy...I was just doing what anyone else would have..." He asked, trying not to let a smile crack his naturally calm, cool demeanor.

"Well, pretty much the _**whole**_ world knows what you did. Man and robot, fighting against an alien threat to our planet. It's inspiring...People need to see more of that." She quickly replied, "That's the actions of a person that they want representing them." Brad thought on the information for a moment.

"What kind of mission are we talking about?" Melody was almost to enthusiastic to speak on the matter.

"Recently, they've picked up a new signal from Cluster Prime..." She baited, "They're not sure what to make of it yet."

"Survivors?" He prodded.

"It's unclear right now. It's all just static and random binary. All they know is that _**something**_ is sending a signal. And they're picking up more of them everyday." She paused briefly, just to admire his presences, "The U.G. already had plans for an expedition to the planet. Earth is still recovering, we could really use the resources left on a world full of deactivated robots. With Dale's training and me by your side, I can't think of anyone better to lead the mission and besides, you're the only person to ever see your fathers files. Couple that with your first hand knowledge and experience with lifeforms like Jenny and I...It's the logical choice."

"What do you mean _**only **_person?" Brad questioned, "Those reports had Skyway _**all**_ over them."

"Your father _**was**_ reporting directly to Skyway, until Dale signed on as head of Skynet operations. Dale actually trained under your father when he was going through the academy. He was under orders to review all of Derrick's information before reporting back to Skyway with it. Dale knew Skyway had nothing good in store for the data your dad was gathering, so they worked out a plan..." She trailed off, noticing that he was a bit uncomfortable with talk of any kind about his father, "Look, I know you've had your heart set on being this famous football player but, the truth is, you really do have a talent for this kind of thing. Your a born leader, not afraid to take action, _**and**_ a practical thinker." She grabbed both of his hands and looked them over while running a thumb across their metal ridges, "Your a beacon of what we _**can**_ be..." She slowly pulled her eyes to his, and in doing so, found a bit of doubt. Her personal interpretation of the Skyway General's message were not enough to convince himself of what she knew to be true, "You've done something that no one else has...You brought the humanity out of machines. The first time you met Jenny, you didn't judge her, you accepted her. You didn't question her, you understood her. She was just another person in your eyes and has been ever since." Brad seemed to pick-up on her meaning, Melody could literally see a change in his demeanor, "You accepted me too...As more than just a friend...You showed me that good can bloom from evil roots...and that love truly has no bounds..." She lightly pressed her left hand against his cheek, "You've loved me...And your love has shown me what it truly means to be alive..." Brad looked into her optics once more, noticing every detail of her synthetic facial features. All of which seemed to say that she, at least and perhaps alone, held the faith in him that her words suggested, "Come on. Mogg wants to test your fine motor skills and debrief you on the details." Melody hovered a few feet off the ground in-front of him, pulling gently on the hands she still held. Brad paused for an instant. Though he had always made a point to never say goodbye, the phrase had always seemed so final to him, the lack of closure weighed heavy on his heart. He turned towards the memorial site once more, forcing out the long withheld but now necessary words.

"Goodbye Jen. I'll...See ya around..." He whispered quietly. He turned his attention back to Melody, concentrating, focusing on his recently discovered flying ability. With a bit of assistance, his feet left the ground and his grief remained where he stood. Looking upon his love, Brad couldn't help but ponder on their relationship. There hadn't been much time for them since their reunion, what with the war going on and the resulting recovery periods for both. He smiled at her, "Ah, to heck with those tests. Lets take the long way around." Melody practically beamed with delight, as the two soared off into the sky.

**Skynet compound: Location top secret**

The guttural sounds of deep, mechanical moans reverberated throughout a hallowed chamber. Affixed the center stood a narrow plateau, rising several meters high, it's peak nearly touched the rooms grand, dome shaped ceiling. The phantom glow of starlight cascaded through the open observation port, vaguely highlighting a large optical array, and one lonely soul. A sigh slipped through the speakers of the Gray giant as he watched the telescope retract back into itself, and the large curved doors come to a close. A dim sliver was all that remained of the night sky's grandeur, which basked him in it's twilight. Removing himself from the observers seat, he stepped into the shadows. Hours a night spent watching, as the bluish tinted cloud of charged particles slowly spread and dissipated, fading over the course of seasons, much like his hope of finding her again. How it had worn him. The passage of time has done little to quell the tempest of his heart. Usually enthralling tasks, such as upgrading the XJ line, had become mundane at best and served little more than to dull his mind. But the hole in his heart still burned for her, driven by resent, vivid dreams of her. Thoughts about the latter plagued Sheldon as he set foot on the small elevator platform and it descended him to the darkened rooms floor. Rhythmically, his feet clomped against the the floor, echoing as he made his way to the exit. A faint blue light passed over him as he approached the door, _**"Recognized. Sheldon. Oswald. Lee." **_The voice of the complexes A.I. signaled his authority to pass. He proceeded towards the laboratory. It was, after all, time for Bradly's motor function test. The various personnel going about their daily schedules stepped out of his way. Some gave him a glance and quickly adverted their eyes, _"Was it out of fear? Or respect?"_ He pondered briefly and decided to leave the thought at that. Some questions are better left unanswered. After a short stroll and the same authorization process once again, the door to the lab opened. Nora immediately turned her attention to him as he entered.

"Good day Dr. Lee." Nora greeted swiveling around in her computer chair, "Or perhaps it should be good morning? It is 0647 hours." She corrected herself, "How fairs your ongoing research?"

"The same..." He sighed, "The clouds expansion rate has slowed down...The solar winds are beginning to overtake the explosion's momentum. In a few months time, the left over radiation will be pushed into the Oort Cloud...Has Brad arrived yet?" He quickly changed the subject. Nora could still read the emotion in his voice.

"No, I'm afraid that his and Melody's signal went off line." She sighed, "Oh, well...There are other more _**interesting**_ matters that need our attention..." She motioned for him to come and examine the information scrolling across her monitor, "Tell me, what do you make of this?" She pressed enter on her keyboard, starting a audio loop of harsh, sharp, scratchy tones. Sheldon listened with keen interest.

"Hmm...As always with you, I know it's something more but, it just sounds like static white noise to me. No different from the ever present hiss of background radiation left over from the big bang, save for the occasional sharp pitch." He responded. Nora huffed out a cloud of smoke.

"This sound byte just recently came down the line from the Skyway heads. Mogg brought it to me before leaving. It was recorded by Voyager 3 during a flyby of Cluster Prime." She informed him.

"Cluster Prime? I thought it was confirmed that Vexes and DV-2 had left it a waist land before coming to Earth?" He questioned, "What interest does the U.G. have there anyway?"

"A planet of deactivated automatons? Just think about it." She replied, "You could imagine what that would contribute to Earth's recovery if we could harvest those resources. As for the signal, all evidence still points to no life on Cluster Prime. We can speculate for weeks, and I'm sure we will, about the origin of the signal..." Another Gray cloud left her lips, "It could be anything from residual electromagnetic energy in the atmosphere released from the bots upon deactivation to-"

"Some type of virus left behind..." Sheldon interrupted, "Nanobots could be reactivating the deactivated bots. Vexes told me that she planned to leave behind a piece of herself on all the planets she conquered."

"All topics will be cover before the mission is Green lighted. In the mean time...I've been fiddling with the hard-drive recovered from beneath my home..." Sheldon thought for a moment.

"The one damaged by radiation exposure? As I recall, the data was scrambled beyond recognition due to Melody and I's..._**Scuffle**_." He gave her a curious stare from behind the steel chest of the Silver Shell suite, "You yourself deemed it a lost cause."

"That would be the one. The hard-drive was stored deep enough underground to be safe from even lethal amounts radiation. After first accessing the data, I theorized that the vibration from your battle damaged the containment around the hard-drive, thus allowing radiation to leak in but, after extensive review, I could find no evidence of containment breach..." Nora stroked a few keys, "And since there was no breach..." The window of information on the screen slid down and out of view and a new page of equations appeared, "See? Even at the levels the two of you were producing, there is no way that _**any**_ radiation could penetrate through 10ft of reinforced concrete, 3ft of dirt, and the photonic shielding around the hard-drive." Sheldon took a few moments to examine the calculations of Dr. Wakeman.

"Hmm...Everything seems to be in order. The question then, is what caused the data to scramble?" Nora fidgeted with a cigarette in her left hand.

"What if I told you, that the data was never actually scrambled? What if I told you that it was all _**rearranged**_, into a highly complex construct?" Nora smiled brightly behind her cigarette, "A construct so complex that, viewed up close, it's information would seem random, damaged, or scrambled."

"I understand what your saying, but not your point." He crossed his massive arms, "Just what are you getting at?"

"Perspective, Sheldon." She hastily rapped upon the keyboard, "It's like viewing quarks and leptons under a quantoscope, without realizing that they are just parts in an atomic structure." Sheldon listened intently, "Or that said atomic structure is only part of a compound or element."

"We've been missing the forest for the trees." He responded, "So, if it's not scrambled, merely changed, then into what?" Nora continued her rapid typing. Exiting from her calculations, the previous window of seemingly scrambled data expanded across the huge monitor once again. As the typing continued, Sheldon dropped his arms to his sides and leaned closer to the screen. It was interesting enough to watch her implement her custom algorithm on the fly, but what it decoded, what it revealed was truly astonishing. The random numbers and text seemed to rotate within a 3 dimensional space and condense, bringing to light a familiar, pulsating form, "Is...Is that what I think it is?"

"If your referring to it's uncanny likeness to a _**heart**_, then yes. It is what you think it is." She stepped back from the computer and admired the image, "The program I've been running is slowly decoding it all, making it possible for us _**humans**_ to see." She flicked the burned out butt into the trashcan, "But, as you can imagine, it's going to take quite awhile to decode something as complex as a living being."

"Are you serious? An artificial intelligence?" He stared at her, "I don't understand. I mean, I understand the principles involved but, how did _**this**_ result come to be? Something that complex has to be designed, for it to just, spontaneously happen is..."

"A miracle? I have never claimed to be a religious person Sheldon but..._**Something,**_ _**somewhere**_ is definitely working in _**mysterious**_ ways." She added.

"This is almost to much..." He rubbed at his optics, "Do you know what exactly it is, growing inside your hard-drive?" Sheldon asked with an ominous tone. Nora answered with equally ominous silence. He tried again, "What data did you have stored on it?"

"Backups of Jennifer's A.I." She responded quickly, "Along with all of their original and updated design schematics, experimental weapon ideas..." She was reluctant but, finally revealed what Sheldon had suspected, "And the information DV...Axle willingly divulged." Sheldon pondered the possible implications of Cluster code mixed into Dr. Wakeman's own personal information.

"Have you considered-"

"Yes." She blatantly cut him off, "I have considered the possibility of this being a Trojan Horse of Vexes. A highly calculated strike. She would finally have all of my data _**and**_ the ability to use it to destroy me...But I trust anything that has a fraction of my daughter within it." Sheldon allowed her a few moments of silence before asking the all important question.

"What will happen next? That is, once the information is fully decode, and you find yourself starring down the barrel of a digital being, what will you do?" She bowed her head and huffed, "You could, and probably should, erase it. End any possible threat it may pose..."

"I don't feel it is anyone's place to judge a life form before it has even had the chance to live. I'm going to do what I have always done...I will give it life. It's design will be programmed into the fabrication tank and carried through to full production." Though her voice was confident, it was clearly evident that the decision weighed heavy on her, "I trust that this information will remain between us..." She brought her eyes to his optics, "God only knows what Skyway would do if they found out." Sheldon drew his arms behind him and rested them in the small of his back, letting out a huff as he did.

"Kenny." He spoke openly.

_**"Recognized. Sheldon. How can I help you?" **_The complexes A.I answered.

"Where is Elena located?" Sheldon asked

_**"Moscow, Russia." **_Kenny replied.

"Inform her that her new weapons systems software is ready."

_**"Affirmative." **_Sheldon turned, preparing to leave Nora to her studies but stopped briefly.

"Your secret is safe with me. I would never want you to end the life of Jennifer's..._**Child**_...I look forward to being a part of it's development." He somewhat asked with his tone.

"I can't think of anyone more qualified." She answered, "Besides, he or she will need a...Father figure to look up to and guide them through this life." Sheldon smiled to himself, "Someone who understands." His smile faded, and the suits large shoulders slumped somewhat.

"Do you think me...Foolish? To hold on so long..." His voice trembled slightly.

"I always wanted her to find someone who cared for her, and treated her the way she deserved to be treated. I only wish she could have seen that, despite everything, it was you all along. In this Universe of infinite possibilities, I like to think that she saw that before the end." Sheldon thought about telling her of the vividly realistic dreams he had been experiencing, of the strong feeling of something approaching but, decided to remain quiet, "By the way, a number of satellites have developed malfunctions while passing over the Atlantic." This certainly peaked his interest, "With all that is going on, no one has had time to investigate." She copied the data onto a flash drive, "It would seem that the malfunctions have been associated with an odd pattern of radiation..." She finished as she pulled the drive out, "If it isn't to much trouble..." Sheldon's heart pounded as he took the device.

"I'll be sure to look into it." He muttered, "I could use a break from my usual routine." The lab door opened once more and Sheldon passed through. He glanced back, "Science does not refute the existence of God...Absence of evidences, is not evidence of absence." Nora listened quietly, "I've seen miracles happen, only now do I know how to recognize them." The door shut behind him.

"It's a mad world indeed..."

**Moscow: The Warriors of Earth Memorial**

An 8ft tall White and Violet automaton casts an ever darkening shadow across a tombstone. Elena has come to this place several times, trying to process and quantify the most human of human qualities, death. She knelt down and brushed aside the dead flowers of her last visit before placing a single fresh rose in their place, _"Sidorov..." _She read softly to herself.

"I thought I might find you here." A Russian speaking man approached her from behind, "Even in such a grave place, your beauty still lights the world."

"I just...Just wanted to understand..."

"What it means to be human? You know more about it than you think." He placed his prosthetic hand on her side and kissed her on the upper arm, "And we have the rest of our lives to indulge in it's wonders." He turned his gaze towards the grave, "My father was a great warrior. He gave his life to defend his country...I joined the military to follow in his foot steps. I was suppose to die in battle that day just as he had...But that day, I met you." He returned his eyes to her's, "You saved me...Looking back, I know he would have been proud of what I've done, but I believe he would want me to live my own life." He took her hand in his, "With a beautiful women." Elena smiled, even though she could not quite process why, his words just felt...Good. They walked, hand in hand, towards the exit.

"What of your sisters? The ones you've told me about?" Sidorov asked just before the gate. Elena went silent for a moment.

"XJ-6 is living with XJ's 1,3, and 4 in a temporary shelter back in Tremorton until we are able to rebuild our Mother's home. The three of them are...Not as capable as I am and are unable to live alone." He could hear the sadness for her siblings in her voice, "Even with the improvements and repairs, their systems will not be able to progress to adult hood for a number of years...They will attend school to help them develop." He pulled close to her, sensing her unease.

"There, there my light...Do not feel sorrow for them. They will be able to grow and change, just as Jennifer did." His words comforted her, "I'm sure they will become great, just as you and Jennifer have. We should go see them one day. I would be honored to meet such brave warriors." Emotions were still very new to her but, she enjoyed the feeling of being close to him. Despite his attempt to ease her mind, one thing still plagued her.

"What...What happens to humans when they die?" It was I difficult question, even by human standards and certainly caught him off guard.

"There are many different theories...Thousands even. No one can really agree upon one and even less are certain if there is any truth to them at all." She listened intently, "I will say this, who we are can never be erased. Our loved ones live on in our hearts and minds...They are never really gone as long as we love and remember them. They are all around us, you just have to look for them." She soaked it all in as he opened his car door for her. She sat quietly for a time as he took his place behind the wheel and drove towards his house, watching the sky as they went. After a short time, she received Kenny's message.

"We may be going to see them sooner than we thought." She spoke.

"Oh?"

"The software for my new weapons system is ready...If I install it, I'll be able to use my full range of abilities...I will become a weapon again...If anything else where to happen...I would be duty bound to assist...We would never be able to have a normal life..." She looked to him for an answer.

"Haha..." He slightly chuckled, "What is this _**normal**_ you speak of?" She smiled, "You always have been a hero, you may as well be a well armed one."

"You...Wouldn't think differently of me?" She asked.

"Of course not." He grabbed her hand. Emotions where still very new to her and the one she was currently processing was delightful to her C.P.U., _"It must be what humans call happiness..." _She processed to herself, before speaking again, "I Understand I...think. What you were talking about earlier. I have this ever present feeling that she is here..." He glanced at her.

"Your sister? Jennifer?" He asked.

"Yes...I know it doesn't compute but...I can feel her...Even though her remains are disappearing into space, I can still detect her signal. Faint and scattered but..it is...Here." She pressed a clenched fist over the center of her chest, opting to for a visual demonstration when words failed her. He could tell that what she spoke, she truly felt.

"You will see her again." He squeezed her hand and she turned to him, "Have faith. Have faith in this and believe. As long as you do that, you will see her again." The two continued their drive in quiet, simply enjoying each others company.

**Later that day: Earth's orbit**

Sheldon Lee found comfort while adrift in the silent void above his native world. A mind numbing place of endless emptiness to the vast majority, a soothing blanket of comforting silence for one who grew and blossomed in life's shadow. Hours he had spent, carefully removing the paneling from the side of one of the satellites in question, only to be confronted by charred relays and melted fuses,_"The damage I'm seeing here doesn't add up. According to the output rating of these solar panels, they alone could not have produced enough power to fry the electronics..." _He tried to check the solar weather conditions over the past month but, to no avail. A weak connection being butchered by interference made the task impossible at the moment. He scratched at the back of his head inside his shell, "Strange..Very strange..." He spoke aloud but, to himself as he began reading through his own logs of Sun activity.

"What? What's so strange?" Nora asked, hearing the words over the communicator she wore on her ear. Agitating her further was the lack of video feed, "How can you be sure that you are even at the right coordinates?" She snapped while hastily trying to deal with the complete inability of her technology to preform is designated tasks, "I can't get a location lock through the radiation interference..."

"Oh I'm sure..." He responded staticly through her earpiece while taking in the spectacle happening around him. Watching in awe, he found himself at a loss for words, "I'm not quiet sure how to describe it..." He thought for a moment, "Are you familiar with St. Elmo's Fire?"

"Of course I do Mr. Lee..." Nora somewhat hissed as she franticly pulled at a tangle of fiber optic cables, desperately trying to improve her reception, "Most commonly found on aircraft when passing through the upper atmosphere-" Sheldon tuned out what he currently considered a drab, static filled, monotone, drilling into his preoccupied mind. And who could blame him? Lost he was, in a stunning visual display of dancing particles and light frequencies only his artificial optics could fully take in. An ungulating sea of light photons ebbed, to and fro, all around him, and seem to permeate from the void around him on some quantum level. It took only a few moments for him to notice a pattern in it's movement, a slow condensing of the phenomenon. He extended his left arm towards the thickest portion, smiling behind the inches of metal that shielded his fragile life, "-Reaching a level of intensity that, in some cases, allows visual conformation by naked eye alone..." Sensing her words falling on deaf ears, Nora tossed down the bundle of wires in a huff and wiped her frustrated brow, "Honestly Sheldon, what the Hell is going on up there?!"

"...nders, Nor...Wonders..." Was his only scratchy response, less than satisfying to Nora's information requiring mind. Deciding to abandon her fruitless communication efforts, she began tapping into the sensor arrays of nearby military satellites

"I'll just analyze the radiation field itself..." She keyed in her clearance code for control of Skyway's geosynchronous military hardware, "Seeing as how my assistant is unavailable..." She quipped, dropping the earpiece on the table before her, "I'll just have to gather as much intell as possible and sift through it manually..." Almost instantly, huge amounts of data came flooding in as her finger lifted from the final key. She herself was no stranger to the heavy cascade of ones and zeros. She decided to study them for a moment before relinquishing the task of compiling it to her equipment. It was as she turned way that she noticed it. The patterns. She would notice them anywhere, in any form. She thrust her face to within inches of the monitor, daring not to even blink, she examined every digit, "Th...That is a start up command..._**My**_ start up command..." The words barely fell from her lips as she fumbled madly for earpiece.

_**Author's Notes:**_

_**Normally, I wouldn't do this, I consider it somewhat distasteful but, seeing as this will be my final FanFiction, why not? This is the Author's notes anyway and I have had so many fans so, here is a small window inside my mind. Some would say that writers often place themselves into their stories in an attempt to live vicariously through a specific character. Some would even say, that character is Axle. I disagree. This story, in it's entirety, is a representation of my life. Littered throughout this tale are parodies of my own experiences. I have literally woven myself into the story. Ironically enough, I identify most with Sheldon. Does this surprise you? Here are a few songs that I listened to during my writing.**_

_**The Lacs – Left For Me**_

_**Imagine Dragons – Radioactive / Demons**_

_**Shinedown – What A Shame**_

_**Ben Howard – Oats In The Water**_

_**3 Doors Down – When You're Young / When I'm Gone**_

_**These, and others like them, are what drove the fight scenes. Not only Sheldon's. For those of you wondering what may have been going through my mind when ending this story: I feel, and I feel most of you would agree, that if you were to really give it some thought, that an important part of Jennifer being able to live out a normal life is for the Earth, as a whole, to learn to deal with it's problems without Jennifer's help. This fact is an essential part of the story. When the weight of the world rests on her shoulders alone, people will become dependent instead of independent.**_

_**To all those faithful to my story, your reviews pressed me onward, and I thank you.**_

_**To all who criticized me, thank you. No one is perfect, sometime I miss errors.**_

_**To all who may read this story in the future, I dream of a world filled with fantastical tales that stretch the imagination. Much of which was once considered to be fictitious has become a daily part of modern life.**_

_**Never stop imagining. A story lives on inside us, far after its finished.**_

_**I leave you with this, I most now move on to bigger things. I swore to myself that I would write a story, weather or not it became popular. It calls to me, EATS at me...This fiction was but an obstacle for me to climb. I promised myself I would not write an original unless I first conquered this story. You all have shone me that I can write, and that there are those who want to read. If ever it does become popular, there will be a short message to you, my fans, in the forward. I hope to hear from you again.**_

_**Your Author, Ivanwright.**_

_**R.D.M.**_


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